Former White House coronavirus task force member Adm. Brett Giroir urged Americans to get vaccinated, but added that the messaging from both the Biden administration and its CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has been "rough."
Walensky]came under fire most recently for putting out new, stricter masking guidance including for vaccinated individuals in certain situations -- without immediately disclosing the data from which that decision was made.
Giroir, who served under President Donald Trump, said that no matter how politicized or controversial the CDC's recommendations and messaging on virus mitigation appear, as a medical doctor he strongly advised all Americans to get the shot to prevent contagion from new variants.
Despite the CDC's messaging stumbles, Giroir reiterated that most unvaccinated Americans will at some point contract the highly contagious Delta variant.
"I think the data you saw today just underscores what I said: The Delta variant is extremely contagious – about like chickenpox, on average infecting nine people instead of two to three people with the old variant," he told "The Story."
"What I said, if you're not vaccinated or you haven't had COVID before, it's a matter of time before you get Delta. It's really that contagious. What I'm concerned about, even those that have been infected before, more and more data are showing that the natural immunity doesn't transfer so well to Delta."
Giroir said that from a medical perspective, the COVID vaccine is not unlike the flu shot, which he noted is not a cure-all and is usually only targeted at the prevalent strain of influenza during a particular year.
"We have to get flu shots every year because flu changes. Delta has changed enough that our pre-existing natural immunity is probably not going to be as effective as we need it to be," he said. "One thing has proven true time and time again and remains true if you get vaccinated: You're 95% protected against hospitalization and death. Even though you could still get the virus and still transmit it, you're not going to die or get hospitalized. That's why you need to get the vaccine."
As for Walensky and President Biden, Giroir said messaging public health advisories isn't easy. However, he said, the most recent firestorm was entirely preventable, had Walensky disclosed the data she used to issue her mandates.
"One thing that I think was a disaster is to come out with recommendations when you had the data but didn't disclose the data," he said.
"The data disclosed today helps us understand. So I do want to get the messaging very clear to people. Vaccinations are highly protective against death and hospitalizations. They're less protective against being infected by Delta."
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"Their messaging needs a lot of help. That's why I want to help transmit that message. Thank you for the opportunity."
As host Trace Gallagher noted, the New York Post editorial board echoed concerns about Walensky, stating that her advisements may not be wrong, but "she has no understanding of how to communicate to the general public — or that, as is the habit of public health bureaucracies, her only concern is that something awful will happen without her having covered her butt in advance."
The Post suggested the White House substitute another official for Walensky when it comes to directly engaging with the public.
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July 31, 2021 at 03:44AM
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Adm. Giroir, former COVID task force member urges vaccines, but rips Biden CDC's 'rough' messaging - Fox News
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