With coronavirus cases rising again in the United States, the country’s top infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci Sunday described the situation as that of an “unnecessary predicament” where COVID-19 infections were rising due to unvaccinated Americans and the dominant Delta variant.

“We’re going in the wrong direction,” Fauci said, adding that he was “very frustrated” over the entire situation.

Fauci said wearing of masks by the vaccinated may be recommended as the move was “under active consideration”. Further, leading public health officials are mulling over recommending booster Covid-19 vaccine shots for people who have been vaccinated but have suppressed immune systems.

Fauci made these remarks on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’. The official said he has been part of discussions about changing the mask guidelines.

It may be noted here that Fauci also acts as US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser.

As per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country has vaccinated some 163 million people, or 49% of the eligible population.

“This is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we’re out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated,” Fauci was quoted as saying.

“What I would really like to see is more and more of the leaders in those areas that are not vaccinating to get out and speak out and encourage people to get vaccinated,” he added.

According to Fauci, government experts were in the process of evaluating data while looking at the possibility of recommending vaccinated individuals to get booster shots. He suggested that some of the most vulnerable, like those who have undergone organ transplant or are cancer patients, are expected to be put on the list for booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine.