TAMPA, Fla. — Doctors say right now they're still seeing the spread of COVID-19 in the community, mostly among unvaccinated people.
“It’s going to be really difficult, I think, to imagine or understand how we open everything back up to what our expectations are if we don’t get a high number of vaccination,” said Dr. Jason Wilson, Associate Medical Director of the Emergency Room at Tampa General Hospital.
One of the reasons why experts are focusing so much on unvaccinated people right now is because of the risk of new variants arising.
“What happens is if viruses can’t replicate or can’t transit then they’ve got nowhere to make variation, they’ve got nowhere new to go,” said Wilson.
Since we’re not at herd immunity levels yet, they fear too many unvaccinated people are now ignoring public safety measures since the CDC lessened restrictions for fully vaccinated people.
The more unprotected people gather, the higher the chance for the spread and new variants.
“The concern is always that the number of variants that arise and the transmissibility of those variants gets ahead of the vaccine uptake curve,” said Wilson.
Right now, scientists all over the world are closely watching the new COVID-19 strain that emerged in India, killing more than 300,000 people so far.
That strain has now spread to several other places, including the United Kingdom.
While this variant currently remains uncommon in the United States, experts are watching closely so it stays that way, and urge everyone to get fully vaccinated.