- Anthony Fauci on Monday warned about increasing concern over new strains
- He said the variants had in some cases infected people who already had COVID
- Fauci said the worrying news made getting people vaccinated even more vital
- January was the most deadly month yet for COVID but the situation is improving
Dr Anthony Fauci has warned that there is still a ‘very high risk’ of getting infected with a new variant of COVID-19 even if you have been previously infected, as he urged all Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Fauci, who has been appointed as Joe Biden‘s chief medical advisor, told a White House press briefing that getting vaccinated was more important than ever given the emergence of new strains, in particular those from South Africa, England and Brazil.
On Friday the first major analysis of the South African strain found that being infected previously did not prevent re-infection with the new variant.
Fauci explained that the worrying news meant more people needed to be vaccinated, to reduce the amount of people in whom the virus can replicate.