Biden warns Americans about Delta variant

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday encouraged Americans who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get their shots to protect themselves from the widely-spreading, highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Bryan Wood reports.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned the country about the widely spreading and highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, and urged Americans to protect themselves against it by getting vaccinated.

"The Delta variant is already responsible for half of all cases in many parts of this country... Right now, as I speak to you, millions of Americans are still unvaccinated and unprotected.

And because of that, their communities are at risk, their friends are at risk, the people that they care about are at risk.

This is an even bigger concern because of the Delta variant." Health officials said the Delta variant has now been found in every U.S. state.

Biden warned against complacency as the Delta variant is more easily transmitted than earlier versions of COVID-19 and may cause more severe disease, especially among younger people.

"It seems to me that it should cause everybody to think twice and it should cause reconsideration, especially the young people who may have thought that they didn't have to be vaccinated, didn't have to worry about it, didn't have to do anything about it up to now.

But the good news is that our vaccinations are highly effective.

Fully vaccinated Americans have a high degree of protection, including against this Delta variant." Biden also announced that 160 million Americans are expected to be fully vaccinated by the end of the week.

He said his administration would devote the rest of the summer toward getting the shot to more people, including by making vaccines available at workplaces, and going door-to-door in various neighborhoods.