Covid-19: Vaccines working very well against Delta strain, says Fauci

Washington - The top infectious diseases expert said that the shots available in the US offered protection against the 'nasty variant'.

US top coronavirus adviser Dr Anthony Fauci on Sunday, characterised the Delta strain of Covid-19 as a "nasty variant".

"It is very clear that this is a nasty variant. It has a much greater capacity of transmitting from person to person," Fauci said, adding that the Covid vaccines that are being used in America to fight the coronavirus "are working very well" and do protect against the Delta variant.

"The bad news is that we have a very nasty variant; the good news is that we have a vaccine that works against it," The Hill quoted Fauci's interview with ABC's "This Week."

The nation's leading infectious diseases doctor also voiced concern for what he called a "schism between some states and some areas that have a very low level of vaccination."

US President Joe Biden last week renewed a call for all Americans to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying his administration is prepared to be more aggressive in fighting vaccine misinformation and eliminating barriers to inoculation for all citizens, The Hill reported.

"It's never been easier, and it's never been more important," Biden said.

The head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases also said he is "quite concerned" about the Delta variant in the US.