COVID in U.S.

US authorities predict that the US will not need a second lockdown due to the spread of an Indian mutation of a new coronavirus, the World Health Organization's new Delta strain. US President Joe Biden said this on Friday, answering questions from reporters at the White House.

He was asked whether the spread of the Delta strain would force the Washington administration to decide to re-lockdown. "I don't think so because so many people have already been vaccinated. But the Delta option could lead to more deaths in regions where the population has not been vaccinated. Where people have received both doses of vaccination, it is highly unlikely that the Delta option would lead to anything. Besides, the existing vaccines are very effective. So, no, it's not a lockdown, but some regions will be badly affected", the president predicted.

Prior to this, the White House chief stressed in his speech that "the new variant of infection will make unvaccinated people even more vulnerable to the disease than they were a month ago".

He also stressed that the spread of the new coronavirus in the country has already caused more than 600,000 deaths. "That's more than Americans died as a result of World War I, World War II, Vietnam and the series of terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 combined.So while we are making incredible progress, the disease remains a serious and deadly threat. If you are not vaccinated, you risk becoming seriously ill, dying or spreading the infection", Biden said, adding that hospitalization for the disease is usually required for those who have not been vaccinated.

The president also said that more than 300 million doses of coronavirus vaccine have been used in the USA over the past 150 days, and more than 175 million Americans (65% of all adults) have been vaccinated at least once. And in 15 states and the D.C. metropolitan area, at least 70% of adults have been vaccinated. The White House previously reported that since Biden took office as president (20 January), the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 has fallen by more than 90%.