Amid a continuous rise in new positive
COVID-19 cases in the United States that is fueled by the more transmissible
Delta variant, top virus expert Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that
unvaccinated Americans are responsible for the spread.

Fauci made these remarks in a discussion on
the increase of cases and slow in vaccinations on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

“We have 100 million people in this country
who are eligible to be vaccinated who are not getting vaccinated,” Fauci was
quoted as saying by CBS.

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“We’ve really got to get those people to
change their minds, make it easy for them, convince them, do something to get
them to be vaccinated because they are the ones that are propagating this
outbreak,” the virus expert added.

The current percentage of the eligible
population that has received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine in the US
stands at 58% but millions of people are still unvaccinated.

Also Read: Senator Lindsey Graham tests positive for COVID despite being vaccinated

Fauci
though said that as more than half of the population is vaccinated, it will
help avoid a massive lockdown situation.

 “Not
enough to crush the outbreak, but I believe enough to not allow us to get into
the situation we were in last winter,” Fauci said.

He also said that due to the spread of the
Delta Variant, he expects a further rise in the number of new cases across the
country.

The CDC updated their mask guidelines last
week, advising both vaccinated and unvaccinated people to wear face coverings
indoors. Most new cases in the country are being seen in the states with low
vaccination rates as Florida leads the tally with almost 20% of new cases in
the US being reported from the ‘sunshine state.’