Dr. Fauci Just Gave This Major Warning to All Americans—Boosted or Not

THE INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT IS SPEAKING OUT DURING HIS OWN COVID INFECTION.

It was just over a month ago that the U.S. reached the tragic milestone of one million COVID deaths. And as we get ready to enter the summer, it's becoming more uncertain whether or not we are headed on the path to more devastating outcomes.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coronavirus cases are on the rise again in the U.S., with an 8 percent increase in infections in the last week. Of course, we've seen cases climb back numerous times throughout the past two years of the pandemic, but this most recent rise has come with a concerning caveat: hospitalizations and deaths are increasing as well. New hospital admissions are up by 8 percent this week, while COVID-related fatalities have risen by more than 18 percent.

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This is not to say we haven't come a long way since 2020. The country's current average of around 110,000 new COVID infections being reported each day is certainly a major improvement from the 200,000 to 250,000 cases reported each day in the fall and winter of 2020—and a notable difference from the more than 782,000 daily case average we saw during Omicron's peak in Jan. 2022.

"As we head into summer, many people are at much lower risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 because of increased immunity through vaccination or previous infection," the CDC recently said. The agency previously reported that more than 60 percent of all Americans had been infected with the virus at least once as of Feb. 2022, and current data shows that 66.7 percent of the entire U.S. has now been fully vaccinated.

But as cases rise once again, it's clear that this won't be enough to protect Americans from COVID forever. During a hearing for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on June 16, several leading virus experts in the nation testified on the current federal COVID response and discussed what needs to be done as the country prepares for its third pandemic summer.

Anthony Fauci, MD, a COVID adviser for the White House and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), had to give his testimony virtually, as it was recently revealed that the infectious disease expert—who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted—just tested positive for COVID. From isolation in his own home office, Fauci gave a direct warning to everyone across the country, boosted or not: "This virus is changing, and we need to keep up with it."

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According to Fauci, the current coronavirus vaccines may still offer significant protection against severe COVID, but their effectiveness against infection is waning faster and faster as time passes, and new vaccine-evading variants emerge. A large study from Israel revealed in early May that even a second booster shot of the current mRNA vaccine formula—which is available to anyone 50 years or older and those who are immunocompromised—is only expected to protect recipients from a COVID infection for just up to eight weeks.

"Looking ahead to the anticipated emergence of new variants, the importance of developing the next generation of coronavirus vaccines is paramount," Fauci said during the hearing. The infectious disease expert confirmed that the NIAID is studying new vaccines that better target the Omicron variant, and is looking toward a vaccine that "would be effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants."

Ultimately, Fauci said his agency wants to have a vaccine that is "effective against all coronaviruses." The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has previously provided grants for research in developing this kind of pan-coronavirus vaccine, but the NIAID director said that more funding is needed from Congress to continue this research and make this a reality.

"These efforts will improve our response to the current pandemic and bolster our preparedness for the next inevitable emerging infectious disease outbreak," Fauci wrote in a statement accompanying his testimony.

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