‘We don’t have a game plan’: Louisiana doctor says Delta unstoppable in largely unvaccinated state

Former FDA commissioner says US’s Delta wave to decline within two to three weeks

A Louisiana doctor says the Covid-19 Delta variant is spreading so rapidly that state hospitals don’t have a "game plan" to handle an expected surge of cases.

Infectious-disease specialist Dr Catherine O’Neal told CNN that the exponential spread of the variant led to a 50 per cent increase at her hospital in Louisiana, where less than half of the state is vaccinated.

"You don’t get your arms around something like this. This isn’t a controllable thing at this point. This is blocking and tackling. This is every day making a new plan," she said.

"We don’t have a game plan for three days from now except that we know that three days from now will be far worse."

In Louisiana, about 40 per cent of the state has received at least one dose while 36 per cent are fully dosed. Nationwide, 57 per cent have received at least one dose while 49 per cent are fully vaccinated, per the CDC data.

Ms O’Neal has been raising alarm bells in Louisiana for the past few weeks, saying there are some breakthrough cases of vaccinated coming into hospitals but that the majority are from the unvaccinated.

Dr Scott Gottlieb, who sits on the board of Covid vaccine maker Pfizer and is the former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, told CNBC this week data from the UK suggested rising cases in the US due to the Delta variant would decline in the next two to three weeks.

He said there’s a "very clear trend down" after the country likely peaked from its earlier exposure to the Delta strain of the virus. The country’s average infections increased from late May to mid-July before cases began falling since Sunday.

“If the UK is turning the corner, it’s a pretty good indication that maybe we’re further into this than we think and maybe we’re two or three weeks away from starting to see our own plateau here in the United States,” he said in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box.

He also said the Delta variant was "much more transmissible" but said changing guidelines on wearing masks and vaccines only made the average American more confused.

He warned that even the vaccinated can contract Covid and potentially spread the virus to the unvaccinated but that shouldn’t translate into general guidance for the entire population.

"I don’t think we’re going to get enough bang for our buck by telling vaccinated people to wear a mask at all times to make it worth our while, I think we’re further into this Delta wave than we’re picking up," he said.

“Much more prudent guidance would be that If you are vaccinated in a high prevalence area, in contact with the virus, you think you might have the virus because you have mild symptoms of it: be prudent, get tested, maybe wear a mask especially if you are around a vulnerable person."