Fauci: Delta variant behind more than 80% of U.S. cases, vaccines still highly effective

By Carl O’Donnell and Mrinalika Roy, Reuters

Posted on July 20, 2021

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The Delta variant of the coronavirus is the cause of more than 80% of new U.S. COVID-19 cases, but the authorized vaccines remain more than 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, said top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci during U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday.

The hearing featured a pointed exchange with Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul, in which he accused Fauci of lying about the National Institutes of Health providing funding for research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.