New Covid-19 infections in the U.S. will tick higher this fall as the highly contagious delta variant spreads, epidemiologist Dr. Anne Rimoin warned Wednesday.
“This variant, the delta variant, is 60% more infectious than the alpha variant, so that just shows you, that if you have the same contact with somebody that you had previously who has Covid, and you’re not vaccinated, you are at substantial risk of getting infected,” Rimoin, a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.”
”It’s a much more serious game now,” Rimoin said.
The delta Covid variant accounts for roughly 1 of 5 new cases in the U.S. Those numbers doubled in just a few weeks. Health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, expect the delta variant to become the dominant strain in the U.S.
Rimoin emphasized the importance of vaccinations in order to protect against the virus.
“It’s really important to keep an eye on this, to get as many people vaccinated, so we can build as much immunity as possible, get in front of this,” Rimoin said.