This is Fauci’s prediction for the new ‘doomsday’ variant and how many cases there will be

• Dr. Anthony Fauci said a new variant could soon emerge in the US, causing cases to rise to 200,000 per day.
• A new variant could test the effectiveness of existing vaccines.
• Masks are recommended for indoor activities across all states, according to data.

A more severe COVID variant could soon emerge in the U.S.

White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the U.S. could be “in trouble” if a new variant trumps the Delta variant, which has caused the nation’s daily case count to skyrocket to nearly 100,000 per day, a number that could double within weeks.

In an interview with McClatchy earlier this week, Fauci said the possibility of a new variant’s emergence might challenge the effectiveness of existing vaccines.

“What we’re seeing, because of this increase in transmissibility, and because we have about 93 million people in this country who are eligible to get vaccinated who don’t get vaccinated — that you have a significant pool of vulnerable people,” Fauci said in the interview.

The Delta variant, easily the most transmissible form of COVID, has halted the U.S.’ recovery from the pandemic — it’s highly infectious and can even infect people who are vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control recently recommended that all people — including those who are vaccinated — wear masks again in indoor places. And offices have delayed reopening plans due to rising cases around the country — including at Amazon, Google, and Uber

Fauci: We’re dealing with a different virus

With the possibility of booster vaccine shots on the horizon, Fauci said Americans are “very lucky” to have vaccines that are effective against current variants, but more severe strains could upend its protection.

“If another one comes along that has an equally high capability of transmitting but is also much more severe, then we could really be in trouble,” Fauci said. “People who are not getting vaccinated mistakenly think it’s only about them. But it isn’t. It’s about everybody else, also.”

Fauci said that cases could likely “wind up” somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 a day due to the acceleration of the Delta variant. In addition, data shows that breakthrough cases — vaccinated people getting infected — have high viral loads and can spread it to others, despite symptoms being less severe.

“We’re now dealing with, really, a different virus,” Fauci said.

A ‘doomsday’ variant could emerge, too

A new, mutated version of the virus is a very real possibility. Experts told Newsweek that the emergence of the Delta variant has shattered hopes of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic as the nation had previously done with other pandemics, warning that it could “be around forevermore.”

There could even be a “doomsday COVID variant” that would be worse than the Delta and Lambda variants, with one expert warning that the next variant “could be Delta on steroids.”

Where the CDC recommends wearing masks

Recently, the CDC reversed its mask recommendation from its decision in May when it said vaccinated people could unmask in indoor public places. Using data from the agency, The New York Times has an interactive map that shows where masks are currently recommended for everyone based on the level of community transmission in each county.

Currently, every state has several counties where masks are recommended. Masks are recommended throughout several states including Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi.