obviously, that should be a priority right now, especially for high-income countries to do their part, because we only have about 1% of low-income countries actually vaccinated at this point. and that s why we re seeing these emerging variants. so, dr. fauci, today, was asked about basically these travel bans, and he said, essentially, the issue of blocking travel from a given country is to just give us time to assess it better. you actually don t think travel bans work. why is that? well, as we ve seen already, by the time the travel bans are instituted, there s already been spread of the virus. and we ve already seen this variant identified on a number of continents already. i mean, even the first specimen that was collected, the first omicron specimen is collected on november 9th and we are just now hearing about this variant. and so, most likely, the spread
african scientists for doing their due diligence to pick up this variant, they picked it up at the same time i am sitting on the advisable committee. when i became aware of it last week, i alerted them, and that was more or less the same time as they also started to see changes in the pcr testing from the virus strains they are testing. so it might be contagious, but so far, very mild cases. as i said, the whole picture might change going forward. ~ , , ~ forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as you - forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as you say. i is very early stages, as you say. what is your reaction to countries taking precautions and blocking travel from southern african countries? travel from southern african countries? , ., ., ~ countries? first of all i think it was
so it might be contagious, but so far, very mild cases. as i said, the whole picture might change going forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as you say. what is your reaction to countries taking precautions and blocking travel from southern african countries? first of all i think it was very premature, and i don t think that the british government should have just acted, they didn t really consult with us, it is like a kneejerk type of reaction. instead of applauding and saying, let s shake hands, we were slammed immediately with a band, so going forward, i can promise you other countries when they pick up a new variant, they are going to be very careful before they announce it, looking at what happened to us. so yes, if this variant is going to cause havoc going forward,
identified in the u.s. right now, he would not be surprised if it is already here. we have not detected it yet. when you have a virus that is showing this degree of trans miss built and you are already having travel related cases noted in israel and belgium and other places. when you have a virus like this, it is ultimately going go all over. the issue of blocking travel from a given country is to just give us time to assess it better. that s the reason for doing that. not any reason to panic. meanwhile, president biden issued a statement urging americans to get vaccinated. america is leading the world in vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 and has been vaccinated teens for months now. we need more americans in all age groups to get the
we can on the front lines and we can t do anything if people aren t doing something to protect themselves. that s what we hope people continue to try to do. health officials are saying, regardless of your vaccination status. can you wear masks, a lot of cities here in d.c. indoor mask mandate has been listed n. new york, we don t have to wear a mask. just show proof of vaccination. with this new variant, i want you to listen to what dr. fauci said about it. i want to ask you about it on the other side. we have not detected it yet, when you have a virus showing this degree of transmissibility and having travel-related cases that they ve noted in israel, belgium and other places, when you have a virus like this, the it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over. the issue of blocking travel from a given country is to just give us time to assess it better. that s the reason for doing that. not any reason to panic.