Vaccinations Will Be Needed For Years As Virus Continues ‘Circulating’ World, FDA Expert Warns

As the U.S. sits at 64% of the U.S. population vaccinated against COVID-19, it won’t be able to rest on its laurels anytime soon, according to one Food and Drug Administration expert.

Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee, said the need to continue vaccinating the American public is long from being over, according to CNN.

Offit continued by saying, "We are going to need to have a highly vaccinated population for years if not longer. This virus is going to be circulating in the world for a long time.”

The news that vaccinations will be necessary, comes as variants of COVID-19 continue to crop up and spread across the world that may be more contagious.

The Delta strain, which experts believe will be the dominant variant to take hold in the U.S., was recently detected in the islands of Hawaii, the state’s Department of Health announced on Monday.

The strain makes up 6% of all cases in the U.S. and was first identified in India, the agency said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has categorized the Delta variant as a virus strain of concern as it continues to learn more about the mutation.

Currently developed COVID vaccines are thought to be effective against these variants, but health experts warn that widespread vaccinations are critical in making sure that these mutations do not advance.

“Early evidence suggests the Delta variant might spread more quickly than other SARS-CoV-2 strains,” Hawaii’s State Laboratories Division Administrator Edward Desmond, said in a statement. “There are reports the Delta variant produces a higher rate of severe illness than original COVID-19, but we do not yet have enough evidence to support that conclusion.”

But Offit maintains that because these virus strains can be “more contagious, you need to have a higher percentage of the population that is protected, immunized, if you're going to stop the spread,” CNN reported.

Offit also suggested that these vaccination numbers need to reach 80% of the population or higher to protect the public by winter, when another surge is likely to occur.

The CDC reported on Tuesday morning that over 144.9 million people were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, accounting for 43.7% of the total U.S. population.