Fauci warns of ‘worse variant’ that ‘could impact the vaccinated’ if Covid-19 is allowed to keep mutating in unvaxxed population

In his latest bid to promote Covid-19 jabs, White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci upped his pandemic warnings and cautioned vaccinated individuals about an even “worse variant” that could come after Delta.

Those who remain unvaccinated, Fauci claimed in a Sunday interview with MSNBC, are responsible for the coronavirus mutating. This has led to the Delta variant, which health officials have continuously warned is partly behind the mass rise in cases and could lead to another surge in the fall.

“There's a tenet that everybody knows in virology: a virus will not mutate unless you allow it to replicate,” Fauci said. “Fortunately for us, the vaccines do quite well against Delta, particularly in protecting you from severe disease.”

But if you give the virus the chance to continue to change, you're leading to a vulnerability that we might get a worse variant, and then that will impact not only the unvaccinated, that will impact the vaccinated because that variant could evade the protection of the vaccine.

Despite aggressive efforts from Joe Biden’s administration to promote vaccines, rates have been lagging as coronavirus cases have been on the rise recently. Some cities, such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, have found themselves facing reinstated mask mandates in response to the new cases. New York City also became the first this month to announce that proof of vaccination will be required at certain venues, gyms, and restaurants.

While Fauci does not see a federal mandate being imposed, he did say he believes that once the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) gives full approval to the vaccines, which he predicts will be sometime later this month, it will make it easier for private businesses to begin mandating vaccinations, something Fauci has endorsed in the past. The infectious disease expert had previously predicted a “flood” of vaccine mandates earlier in the week when discussing the impending approval.

The time has come [when] we’ve got to go the extra step to get people vaccinated.

Fauci also warned on Sunday about mass gatherings, specifically targeting the ongoing motorcycle rally in South Dakota, an event that has been criticized heavily for being a potential super-spreader event. Hundreds of thousands of people are reportedly attending the event. 

“I'm very concerned, Chuck, that we're going to see another surge related to that rally,” he said.

Critics were quick to accuse Fauci of targeting the rally for political purposes as it pulls in a typically conservative crowd to a conservative state, pointing out that the health official did not have the same concern for the recent Lollapalooza music festival or former president Barack Obama’s glitzy, celebrity-filled birthday bash over the weekend, where many appeared to avoid wearing masks, including Obama himself.

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