Will Delta Surge Sway Unvaccinated? Plus: The Truth About 'Breakthrough' Infections

Consider This from NPR

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🗓️ 21 July 2021

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

The delta variant now makes up an estimated 83% of coronavirus cases in the U.S., a sharp increase over recent weeks. Cases are rising more rapidly in places with low rates of vaccination. Arkansas is one of those places. The state's Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, tells NPR what he's doing to try to convince more people to get a shot.

Amid those localized surges and reports of breakthrough infections, NPR's Allison Aubrey explains how to think about your own risk.

Find more NPR coverage of breakthrough infections here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	To some people listening, this sounded like a change in tone.
0:04.9	Please take COVID seriously.
0:06.7	I can't say it enough.
0:08.0	Enough people have died.
0:09.3	We don't need any more death.
0:10.8	Sean Hannity, who early on during the pandemic called it a hoax,
0:14.4	made a point to tell his Fox News viewers this week
0:16.8	that COVID-19 vaccines do work.
0:20.4	And it absolutely makes sense for many Americans
0:22.6	to get vaccinated.
0:23.8	I believe in science.
0:24.8	I believe in the science of vaccination.
0:26.7	Hannity said that on Tuesday, the day we learned
0:28.9	that the number two Republican in the House, Steve Scalice,
0:31.8	who's had full access to the vaccine for many months now,
0:34.5	finally got vaccinated.
0:36.3	He told a New Orleans newspaper he made that decision
0:38.7	because he was worried about the Delta variant.
0:41.7	That variant has been spreading rapidly,
0:44.4	driving COVID surges in areas with low vaccination rates.
0:48.3	It now accounts for an estimated 83% of cases in the US
0:52.7	according to the CDC.
	...

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