Coronavirus | U.S. has '2 weapons' to fight infection

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Coronavirus | U.S. has '2 weapons' to fight infection

As the highly transmitted Delta variant spreads rapidly throughout the country, the U.S. has 'two weapons' to respond to the outbreak, according to one medical regional medical director Dr. Natasha Bhuyan.

We have two important weapons in combating this virus one is masks, the other is vaccines '' said Dr. Natasha Bhuyan on Yahoo Finance Live. If we can get our vaccination rates up, we will be able to stop the spread of the virus. If the public health department carries out this regulation, then it's important that even people who are fully vaccinated stay indoor in public settings.

The Delta variant, first identified in India, has now spread to more than 132 countries and is as infectious as chickenpox according to internal Center for Disease Control and Prevention document. The new strain accounts for more than 80% of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. as the seven-day average of confirmed cases has soared 150% in the past two weeks.

Outbreaks of infections largely driven by the Delta variant have prompted state and local governments to reimpose coronavirus-related restrictions. Seven Los Angeles and Sacramento counties, as well as San Francisco Bay Area and California counties, have taken steps to mandate people wear masks indoors. But New York City officials stopped short of making the mandatory recommendation for people to wear masks on Monday.

Louisiana is the first state to reimpose a statewide indoor mask mandate as the number of cases in the state surges. John Bel Edwards issued the order on Monday, requiring face coverings for everyone age 5 or older until Oct. 1 to help slow the spread of COVID - 19 and limit suffering and death in Louisiana until we are through this fourth surge.

Vaccinations, the other key weapon to fight the Delta variant, according to Bhuyan, hit a milestone in the U.S. on Monday. Seventy percent of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of COVID 19 vaccine, while 60.6% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

'We are mostly seeing cases in people who are unvaccinated. 99.9% of people who have been fully vaccinated have not had a breakthrough case that has resulted in a severe hospitalization or death, Bhuyan added. 'What that tells us is that public health experts are saying accurate.