沙特阿拉伯表示將根據“實地情況”判斷伊朗的賴西

贏得預期選舉勝利的強硬法官 Raisi 表示，他希望改善與海灣阿拉伯鄰國的關係，同時呼籲沙特阿拉伯立即停止對也門的干預。

通過路透

2021 年 6 月 22 日 19:48

伊朗總統候選人易卜拉欣·賴西在伊朗德黑蘭 Mosalla 清真寺舉行的競選會議上講話

（圖片來源：路透社）

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沙特阿拉伯外交部長周二表示，沙特阿拉伯將根據“當地的現實”來判斷伊朗當選總統易卜拉欣·賴西的政府，同時補充說，最高領袖阿亞圖拉·阿里·哈梅內伊對外交政策擁有最終決定權。

Raisi 是一名強硬派法官，他在周六贏得了預期的選舉勝利，他週一表示，他希望改善與海灣阿拉伯鄰國的關係，同時呼籲地區競爭對手沙特阿拉伯立即停止對也門的干預。

經過六年的戰爭，利雅得未能擊敗伊朗支持的也門胡塞運動。沙特阿拉伯還反對德黑蘭和華盛頓試圖通過間接談判重振伊朗核協議。

“從我們的角度來看，伊朗的外交政策在任何情況下都是由最高領導人掌管的，因此我們的互動和我們對伊朗的態度是基於當地的現實，這就是我們判斷新政府的依據，無論是什麼誰負責，”沙特外交大臣費薩爾·本·法爾漢·阿勒沙特王子在與奧地利外長的新聞發布會上說。

他沒有說他希望這一現實如何改變，但他確實說他“非常擔心”有關伊朗核計劃的懸而未決的問題，這顯然是指聯合國核監督機構尋求解釋在伊朗未申報地點發現的鈾顆粒的來源。伊朗。

沙特阿拉伯和海灣盟國繼續就伊朗的核計劃及其彈道導彈向伊朗施壓，德黑蘭稱該計劃完全是和平的。美國情報機構和國際原子能機構認為，伊朗有一項秘密、協調的核武器計劃，該計劃於 2003 年停止。

為了遏制兩國之間的緊張局勢，沙特阿拉伯和伊朗於 4 月開始直接對話。

Saudi Arabia says it will judge Iran's Raisi by 'reality on the ground'

Raisi, a hardline judge who secured an expected election victory, said he wanted to improve ties with Gulf Arab neighbors while calling on Saudi Arabia to immediately halt its intervention in Yemen.

By REUTERS

JUNE 22, 2021 19:48

Iranian Presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a campaign meeting at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran

(photo credit: REUTERS)

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Saudi Arabia will judge Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi's government by "the reality on the ground," the kingdom's foreign minister said on Tuesday, while adding that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on foreign policy.

Raisi, a hardline judge who secured an expected election victory on Saturday, said on Monday he wanted to improve ties with Gulf Arab neighbors while calling on regional rival Saudi Arabia to immediately halt its intervention in Yemen.

After six years of war, Riyadh has failed to defeat the Houthi movement in Yemen that Iran supports. Saudi Arabia also opposes the Iran nuclear deal that Tehran and Washington are trying to revive in indirect talks.

"From our perspective, foreign policy in Iran is in any case run by the supreme leader and therefore we base our interactions and our approach to Iran on the reality on the ground, and that is what we will judge the new government on, regardless of who is in charge," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told a news conference with his Austrian counterpart.

He did not say how he wanted that reality to change but he did say he was "very concerned" about unanswered questions on Iran's nuclear program, an apparent reference to the U.N. nuclear watchdog seeking explanations on the origin of uranium particles found at undeclared sites in Iran.

Saudi Arabia and Gulf allies continue to pressure Iran over its nuclear program, which Tehran says is entirely peaceful, and its ballistic missiles. US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency believe Iran had a secret, coordinated nuclear weapons program that it halted in 2003.

In a bid to contain tensions between them, Saudi Arabia and Iran began direct talks in April.

美國政府沒收了數十個與伊朗有關的美國網站域名

由埃文·佩雷斯和謝里夫佩吉特，CNN

更新時間為 2030 GMT (0430 HKT) 2021 年 6 月 22 日

（美國有線電視新聞網）一位美國國家安全官員告訴美國有線電視新聞網，美國政府已查封了數十個與伊朗有關的美國網站域名，這些域名與美國所說的虛假信息活動有關。

一些用戶無法訪問 Presstv.com 等網站，該網站是伊朗國營的英語新聞媒體。在嘗試訪問時，用戶會看到以下消息：“域名 presstv.com 已被美國政府根據 18 USC 的扣押令扣押……作為美國聯邦調查局執法行動的一部分工業與安全、出口執法辦公室和聯邦調查局。”

伊朗半官方的法爾斯通訊社週二報導稱，美國封鎖了包括伊朗國營新聞電視台在內的多家新聞機構的網站。

特朗普打破了伊朗改革的夢想。該國新任強硬總統就是活生生的證明

法爾斯在推特上寫道：“美國行政當局週二在公然侵犯新聞自由的情況下封鎖了包括 Press TV、Al-Masirah、Al-Alam 和 Al-Maalomah 在內的多家新聞機構和電視頻道的網站。”

Al-Masirah 是 Houthi 經營的出口，Al-Alam 是伊朗的阿拉伯語頻道。

雖然它沒有明確表示其網站已被查封，但英文新聞電視帳戶發推文說：“在似乎是一項協調行動中，伊朗和地區電視網絡的網站上出現了一條類似的信息，聲稱擁有這些網站的域名。已經‘被美國政府沒收了’。”

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Press TV 和 Fars 的推文都包含一張通知的照片，上面寫著“該網站已被扣押”，文字說明該域名“已根據扣押令被美國政府扣押”。

單擊按鈕輸入電子郵件以註冊美國有線電視新聞網的《同時在美國》時事通訊。

當被問及這些網站被沒收的情況時，國務院發言人內德·普萊斯在向司法部的簡報電話中轉介了記者，司法部沒有立即發表評論。

此舉是在伊朗強硬派易卜拉欣·賴西( Ebrahim Raisi)當選為該國下一任總統幾天后，美國國務院稱這一過程為“預先製造”，並不自由和公平。Raisi 的所有主要競爭對手都被禁止參加競選，整體選民投票率為 48.8%，這是自 1979 年伊斯蘭共和國成立以來的最低數字。

在周一的新聞發布會上，這位伊朗當選總統排除了與美國總統喬拜登會面的可能性，並呼籲美國取消對德黑蘭的製裁併重新加入伊朗核協議。

在維也納關於 2015 年核協議的談判中，美國政府沒收這些網點是一個潛在的挑釁性舉動。第六輪討論——旨在讓美國重返協議並使伊朗重新遵守協議——在周末結束。普萊斯週一告訴記者，美國預計將進行第七輪談判，萊西的當選不會對奧地利首都的談判產生影響。

“談到我們的外交，我們一直說，達成相互遵守 JCPOA 絕對符合我們的利益，正是因為這將使我們能夠再次永久且可核查地阻止伊朗獲得核武器。 ，“ 他說。“在伊朗大選之前，這符合我們的利益。在選舉之後，這顯然符合我們的利益。”

普萊斯補充說：“我要指出的是，儘管伊朗將在未來幾週內有一位新總統，但最終決定伊朗在一系列重要問題上的政策的是伊朗最高領導人。”

US government seizes dozens of US website domains connected to Iran

By Evan Perez and Sharif Paget, CNN

Updated 2030 GMT (0430 HKT) June 22, 2021

(CNN)The United States government has seized dozens of US website domains connected to Iran, linked to what the US says are disinformation efforts, a US national security official told CNN.

Some users are not able to access sites like Presstv.com, which is an Iranian state run English language news outlet. When attempting to access, users are seeing the following message: "The domain presstv.com has been seized by the United States Government in accordance with a seizure warrant pursuant to 18 U.S.C. … as part of a law enforcement action by the Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency on Tuesday reported the US has blocked the websites of several news agencies including Iranian state-run Press TV.

Trump dashed dreams of reform in Iran. The country's new hardline president is living proof

"The US Admin. Blocked Websites of Several News Agencies & TV Channels, Including Press TV, Al-Masirah, Al-Alam & Al-Maalomah, on Tuesday in A Flagrant Violation of The Freedom of The Press," Fars tweeted.

Al-Masirah is a Houthi-run outlet and Al-Alam is Iran's Arabic-language channel.

While it does not explicitly say its website has been seized, the English language Press TV account tweeted, "In what seems to be a coordinated action, a similar message appears on the websites of Iranian and regional television networks that claims the domains of the websites have been 'seized by the United States Government.'"

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Both Press TV and Fars' tweets included a photo of a notice saying "this website has been seized" with text saying the domain "has been seized by the United States Government in accordance with a seizure warrant."

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Asked about the seizure of the sites, State Department spokesperson Ned Price referred reporters on a briefing call to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately provide comment.

The move comes just days after the election of Iranian hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as the nation's next president in a process the US State Department called "pre-manufactured" and not free and fair. All of Raisi's serious rivals were barred from the race and overall voter turnout was 48.8%, the lowest figure since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

In a news conference Monday, the Iranian President-elect ruled out a meeting with US President Joe Biden and called on the US to lift sanctions on Tehran and rejoin the Iran nuclear deal.

The US government's seizure of the outlets is a potentially provocative move amid the talks in Vienna about the the 2015 nuclear agreement. The sixth round of those discussions -- aimed at returning the US to the deal and getting Iran back into compliance -- wrapped up over the weekend. Price told reporters Monday that the US expected there to be a seventh round of talks and that Raisi's election would not have an impact on the negotiations in the Austrian capital.

"When it comes to our diplomacy, we've always said that it is absolutely in our interests to arrive at a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA precisely because it would allow us to once again permanently and verifiably prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," he said. "That was in our interests before the Iranian election. It is manifestly in our interests after the election."

"I would make the point that even though Iran will have a new president in the coming weeks, ultimately it is Iran's supreme leader who determines Iran's policy on a range of important issues," Price added.

自5月以來，阿富汗370個地區中有50個已落入塔利班手中：聯合國特使

更新時間 1950 GMT (0350 HKT) 2021 年 6 月 22 日

GPS：塔利班發言人關於阿富汗的未來 07:01

（美國有線電視新聞網）據聯合國阿富汗問題特使黛博拉·里昂稱，隨著美國繼續從該國撤軍，自 5 月以來，阿富汗370 個地區中有50 個地區已被塔利班武裝分子佔領。

里昂週二對聯合國安理會表示：“塔利班最近取得的進展更為顯著，這是軍事行動加劇的結果；自 5 月初以來，阿富汗 370 個地區中有 50 多個地區已淪陷。”

聯合國對仍然與基地組織有密切聯繫的膽大妄為的塔利班構成的威脅發出警告

里昂繼續說：“大多數地區都圍繞省會城市被佔領，這表明一旦外國軍隊完全撤出，塔利班就會試圖佔領這些省會城市。”

消息傳出之際，當地一家電力公司週二告訴媒體，暴力衝突已損壞關鍵電力基礎設施，導致包括喀布爾在內的 11 個省停電。

昆都士省議會成員拉巴尼·拉巴尼 (Rabani Rabani) 表示，在過去 24 小時內，塔利班武裝分子控制了昆都士省的幾個地區以及與塔吉克斯坦的重要過境點。

Rabani 說，這些地區包括 Chahar Dara、Khan Abad、Imam Sahib 以及與塔吉克斯坦的過境點 Shirkhan Bandar。

拉巴尼補充說，其中之一，查哈爾達拉地區，為了防止平民傷亡，不戰而降。

北約領導人在峰會上支持拜登從阿富汗撤軍的決定

塔利班的最新進展發生在傳統上不受他們控制的領域。

上週末，塔利班聲稱它佔領了該國北部巴爾赫省的一個阿富汗軍隊基地。一段塔利班宣傳視頻顯示，武裝分子在軍事基地內沒收軍用車輛和武器。

他們在另一段視頻中聲稱，他們控制了東北部塔哈爾省的阿富汗國民軍悍馬。

該組織還在另一段宣傳視頻中聲稱，數十名阿富汗軍隊向該國北部法里亞布省的塔利班投降。

阿富汗安全官員無法向 CNN 證實或否認這些說法，CNN 也無法核實視頻的真實性或拍攝日期。

4 月，美國總統喬拜登正式宣布他決定結束美國最長的戰爭，認為阿富汗長期和棘手的衝突不再符合美國的優先事項。

布林肯說，政府正在“考慮每一個選項”來幫助幫助美國但立法者“沮喪”的阿富汗人

拜登表示，他將在 9 月 11 日，即引發反恐戰爭的恐怖襲擊事件發生 20 週年之前從阿富汗撤軍。

這些起源早已讓位於其他目標，拜登宣稱，再多的時間或金錢都無法解決他的三位前任試圖解決但未能解決的問題。

拜登計劃會見阿富汗總統阿什拉夫·加尼和負責監督政府談判團隊的國家民族和解高級委員會主席阿卜杜拉·阿卜杜拉。

“美國將繼續與阿富汗政府深入接觸，以確保該國不再成為對美國本土構成威脅的恐怖組織的避風港，”白宮新聞秘書 Jen Psaki 週一表示。

50 of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen to Taliban since May: UN envoy

Updated 1950 GMT (0350 HKT) June 22, 2021

On GPS: Taliban spokesman on the future of Afghanistan 07:01

(CNN)Fifty of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen to Taliban militants since May, according to the UN's special envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons, as the United States continues its military withdrawal from the country.

"The Taliban recent advances are even more significant and are as a result of an intensified military campaign; more than 50 of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen since the beginning of May," Lyons told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

UN sounds alarm over threat posed by emboldened Taliban, still closely tied to al Qaeda

"Most districts have been that have been taken surround provincial capitals, suggesting that the Taliban are positioning themselves to try and take these capitals once foreign forces are fully withdrawn," Lyons continued.

The news came as a local power company told media Tuesday that violent clashes had damaged key electrical infrastructure, causing power outages in 11 provinces including Kabul.

Over the past 24 hours, Taliban fighters have taken control of several districts in Kunduz province and the important border crossing with Tajikistan, according to a Rabani Rabani, a member of the Kunduz provincial council.

The districts include Chahar Dara, Khan Abad, Imam Sahib, and as well as Shirkhan Bandar, a crossing point with Tajikistan, Rabani said.

One of them, the Chahar Dara district, fell without a fight in order to prevent civilians casualties, Rabani added.

NATO leaders at summit back Biden's decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan

The latest Taliban gains are in areas not traditionally under their control.

Over the weekend, the Taliban claimed it had overrun an Afghan Army base in Balkh governorate in the north of the country. A Taliban propaganda video shows the group of militants inside a military base confiscating military vehicles and weapons.

They claimed in another video that they had taken control of Afghanistan National Army Humvees in Takhar province, in the northeast.

The group also claimed in another propaganda video that dozens of Afghan forces surrendered to Taliban in Faryab province in the north of the country.

Afghan security officials could not confirm or deny these claims to CNN, and CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the videos or the date they were filmed.

In April, US President Joe Biden formally announced his decision to end America's longest war, deeming the prolonged and intractable conflict in Afghanistan no longer in alignment with American priorities.

Blinken says administration is 'considering every option' to assist Afghans who helped US but lawmakers are 'frustrated'

Biden said he would withdraw US troops from Afghanistan before September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that catalyzed the war on terror.

Those origins had long given way to other objectives, and Biden declared that no amount of time or money could solve the problems his three predecessors had tried and failed to fix.

Biden is planning to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the country's High Council for National Reconciliation, which oversees the government's negotiation team.

"The United States will remain deeply engaged with the Government of Afghanistan to ensure the country never again becomes a safe haven for terrorist groups who pose a threat to the US homeland," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

Delta 變體對美國的 Covid-19 意味著什麼

更新時間為 2001 GMT (0401 HKT) 2021 年 6 月 22 日

（美國有線電視新聞網）在印度首次發現的一種冠狀病毒變種有望成為美國的主要變種，傳染病建模者表示，它可能會在今年晚些時候導致 Covid-19“捲土重來”。

專家說，它可能已經佔全國每 5 例感染中的 1 例。

現在所稱的 Delta 變體已經席捲英國，幾乎取代了去年年底在那里首次發現的 Alpha 變體。

貝勒醫學院國家熱帶醫學院院長彼得·霍特茲博士周一對美國有線電視新聞網的安娜·卡布雷拉說：“這是我們所見過的所有變種中最易傳播的。”

“我們看到了在英國發生的事情，在那裡它超過了整個國家。所以我擔心這會發生在美國，”他說。

CDC 現在將冠狀病毒 Delta 變體稱為“受關注的變體”

美國疾病控制與預防中心主任羅謝爾·瓦倫斯基博士上週告訴 CNN，她預計三角洲將成為“未來幾個月的主要變種”。

根據 Helix 的科學副總裁 William Lee 的說法，這可能需要幾週——而不是幾個月——的時間，該公司的 Covid-19 測試已經幫助追踪了許多變種。

在截至 6 月 5 日的兩週內，CDC 估計達美航空造成了美國近 10% 的感染。現在，Hotez、Lee 和美國頂級傳染病醫生 Anthony Fauci 博士說，它約佔病例的五分之一。

“截至幾天前，20.6% 的分離株是三角洲病毒，”福奇在周二的白宮簡報會上說，指的是 6 月 19 日之前的兩週。他補充說，這個數字大約每兩週翻一番。

“它非常容易傳播，除非你的疫苗接種率足夠高，否則你仍然會爆發，”李說。

他解釋說，像 Delta 這樣更易傳播的變種也提高了必須接種疫苗的人口百分比的標準，以“達到這種神話般的群體免疫”。

“更令人擔憂的是，我們知道有些人沒有接種疫苗，”他補充道。“所以我會擔心達美航空會在這些口袋裡迅速蔓延。”

預測未來

傳染病建模者正在展示像 Delta 這樣的變種如何在今年晚些時候捲土重來。

約翰霍普金斯大學彭博公共衛生學院的流行病學家賈斯汀萊斯勒說，面對一種更具傳染性的變種，“看起來我們確實在夏末或初秋看到了病毒捲土重來。”

萊斯勒一直在與來自Covid-19 情景建模中心的其他十幾個機構的貢獻者合作， 以預測大流行。

CDC 負責人表示，Delta 變體可能會成為美國的主要 Covid-19 菌株

最新模型發現，假設比 Alpha 的傳染性高 60% 的類似 Delta 的變種，加上 75% 的符合條件的美國人接種疫苗，可能導致 Covid-19 從夏季低點反彈，導致每年 3,000 多人死亡。在秋季和冬季的不同時間點一周——恰逢孩子們重返學校和將人們推回室內的天氣。

這比美國過去一周看到的 Covid-19 死亡人數多出約 1,000 人，但仍遠低於 1 月第二週 24,000 人死亡的峰值。

但根據該模型，讓 86% 的符合條件的美國人（即 12 歲及以上）接種疫苗，到 11 月下旬可以避免超過 10,000 人的累計死亡。

據 CDC 稱，目前，62.5% 的 12 歲及以上美國人至少接種了一劑疫苗。按照目前的速度，該國 9 月份將達到 75%，11 月份將達到 86%。然而，最近幾週疫苗接種的步伐有所放緩。

萊斯勒說，Covid-19 的死灰復燃不會在全國范圍內統一出現：“正是疫苗接種率較低的州和預計的疫苗接種率較低的州，才是真正推動了這些死灰復燃的因素。”

在周二的白宮簡報會上，福奇稱三角洲是該國抗擊冠狀病毒的“最大威脅”。

但他補充說，這是一種可以預防的威脅，而且不太可能達到早期高峰的水平。相反，“你可以看到局部激增，”他說。“所有這一切都可以通過接種疫苗來完全避免。”

根據英國公共衛生部的數據，英國 Delta 的研究表明，在那裡使用的兩劑疫苗可提供高水平的保護，Delta 和 Alpha 的住院效果均超過 90%。

CNN 分析：疫苗接種率高的地方，Covid-19 病例數下降

費城兒童醫院政策實驗室主任大衛·魯賓博士也看到了疫苗接種率較低地區病例、住院和死亡人數增加的趨勢。

魯賓說，他的團隊越來越關注住院和急診室數據，以了解大流行如何發展，因為隨著接受檢測的人越來越少，病例數量變得越來越不可靠。

在疫苗接種率較低的地區，他們注意到住院率下降速度較慢。魯賓以紐約州為例，該州約有 52% 的人口接種了疫苗，新入院率一直在穩步下降。與此同時，根據疾病預防控制中心的數據，在像密蘇里州這樣的州，只有 38% 的人接種了疫苗，住院率不僅更高，而且自 5 月中旬以來呈上升趨勢。

雖然感覺這個國家已經好轉了，但魯賓警告說“大流行還沒有結束”。

凱撒家庭基金會等民意調查顯示，大約五分之一的成年人表示他們不會接種疫苗，或者只有在需要時才會接種。但在某些群體中，這個數字更高——比如共和黨人、白人福音派基督徒、年輕群體和生活在農村地區的人。

達美航空在美國的發展軌跡

Helix 的 Lee 說，雖然專家們同意 Delta 對未接種疫苗的人群構成更大的威脅，但它在美國將遵循與在英國完全相同的軌跡並不是定論。

不僅僅是 Delta——其他冠狀病毒變種也讓科學家們感到擔憂

在尚未經過同行評審的預印本中，Lee 和他的同事描述了美國疫情的發展方式有所不同：

在美國，由 Alpha 變體（也稱為 B.1.1.7）引起的 Covid-19 病例在 4 月份增長到 70%，但在那裡趨於平穩——比英國低得多。

很難確切地知道為什麼，李說。這可能與可能影響病毒傳播的各種政策有關——包括公共衛生措施和在美國推出的疫苗。

即便如此，從 4 月下旬到 6 月中旬，Alpha 變體從 Covid-19 病例的 70% 下降到 42%。似乎不僅是 Delta，還有在巴西發現的另一種令人擔憂的變體——被稱為 P.1 或 Gamma。

“我們認為它會有所不同，主要是因為 Gamma 在美國的存在從未真正在英國站穩腳跟，”Lee 說。

截至 6 月上旬至中旬，Delta 和 Gamma 似乎在美國的病例中所佔比例相似。但 Delta 的傳播速度似乎快了好幾倍。

由於危險的 Covid-19 變種似乎導緻密蘇里州一個城市的住院高峰，未來可能會遇到麻煩

雖然 Gamma 似乎沒有那麼容易傳播，但它確實引起科學家們的關注，因為另一個原因：它似乎不太容易被抗體中和——包括那些來自接種過疫苗的人、以前感染過的人以及某些單克隆抗體，以及。

“這不是它們根本不起作用的世界末日情景，而是可能會降低一些功效，”Lee 解釋說。

這或許可以部分解釋為什麼 Delta 和 Gamma 在該國不同地區的傳播方式似乎不同。

Lee 的預印本顯示 Delta 似乎“在疫苗接種率較低的縣增長更快”，使用截止日期為 5 月 1 日完全接種疫苗的 28.5%。

與此同時，與低於該臨界值的縣相比，伽馬似乎在疫苗接種率較高的縣中傳播得更多。

獲取 CNN Health 的每週通訊

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雖然這項研究借鑒了 Helix 在許多州的縣級測試數據的優勢，但 Lee 表示，該研究的結果可能不能代表整個國家。

但它們傳達的信息可能更普遍：

鑑於美國各地取消了限制，“歸根結底，接種疫苗仍然是我們擁有的最好的——而且可能是目前唯一的——工具，”李說。

What the Delta variant could mean for Covid-19 in the United States

Updated 2001 GMT (0401 HKT) June 22, 2021

Now PlayingDelta variant fuels the…

 (CNN)A coronavirus variant first spotted in India is poised to become the dominant one in the United States, where infectious disease modelers say it could cause a "resurgence" of Covid-19 later this year.

And it may already account for 1 in every 5 infections nationwide, experts say.

The Delta variant, as it's now called, has swept across the UK, all but replacing the Alpha variant first identified there late last year.

"This is the most transmissible of all the variants that we've seen," Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN's Ana Cabrera Monday.

"We saw what happened in the UK, where it overtook the entire nation. So I'm worried that's going to happen in the US," he said.

CDC now calls coronavirus Delta variant a 'variant of concern'

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN last week she anticipates Delta will become "the predominant variant in the months ahead."

And that could be a few weeks -- not months -- away, according to William Lee, vice president of science at Helix, a company whose Covid-19 tests have helped track a number of variants.

In the two weeks leading up to June 5, CDC estimates that Delta was responsible for nearly 10% of US infections. And now, Hotez, Lee, and the nation's top infectious disease physician, Dr. Anthony Fauci, say it accounts for roughly a fifth of cases.

"As of a couple of days ago, 20.6% of the isolates are Delta," Fauci said at a White House briefing Tuesday, referring to the two weeks leading up to June 19. This number has roughly doubled every two weeks, he added.

"It's so transmissible that, unless your vaccination rates are high enough, you will still have outbreaks," said Lee.

A more transmissible variant like Delta also raises the bar for what percent of a population has to be vaccinated "to reach this mythical herd immunity," he explained.

"More worrisome is that we know that there are pockets of unvaccinated people," he added. "And so I would be worried about Delta spreading very quickly in those pockets."

Predicting the future

Infectious disease modelers are showing how a variant like Delta could make a Covid-19 comeback later this year.

Faced with a more transmissible variant, "it looks like we do see a resurgence late in the summer, or in the early fall," said Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Lessler has been working with contributors from a dozen other institutions on the Covid-19 Scenario Modeling Hub to forecast the pandemic.

Delta variant will likely become dominant Covid-19 strain in US, CDC chief says

The most recent model finds that a Delta-like variant that's assumed to be 60% more transmissible than Alpha, coupled with 75% of eligible Americans getting vaccinated, can result in Covid-19 bouncing back from summer lows to cause more than 3,000 deaths per week at various points during the fall and winter -- coinciding with children returning to school and weather that pushes people back indoors.

That's about 1,000 more Covid-19 deaths than the US has seen over the past week, though still far below the peak of 24,000 deaths during the second week of January.

But according to the model, getting 86% of eligible Americans vaccinated -- meaning, those 12 and up -- could avert more than 10,000 cumulative deaths by late November.

Currently, 62.5% of Americans 12 and up have gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, according to CDC. At the current pace, the country would hit 75% in September and 86% in November. However, the pace of vaccination has slowed in recent weeks.

Lessler said that Covid-19 resurgences wouldn't be experienced uniformly all over the country: "It's the states that have lower vaccination rates, and a lower projected vaccination rate, that are really driving those resurgences."

At the White House briefing Tuesday, Fauci called Delta the country's "greatest threat" in its fight against the coronavirus.

But it's a preventable threat, he added, and one that's unlikely to reach the level of earlier peaks. Instead, "you could see localized surges," he said. "All of that is totally and completely avoidable by getting vaccinated."

Research on Delta in the UK has shown high levels of protection from two doses of the vaccines used there, with effectiveness against hospitalization exceeding 90% for both Delta and Alpha, according to Public Health England.

CNN analysis: Where vaccination is up, Covid-19 cases are down

Dr. David Rubin, director of PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, has also seen trends of increasing cases, hospitalizations and deaths in areas of lower vaccination.

Rubin said his team is increasingly focused on hospitalizations and emergency room data to see how the pandemic plays out because, as fewer people get tested, the number of cases is becoming a less reliable marker.

In areas with lower vaccination rates, they noted a slower rate of decline in hospitalizations. Rubin pointed to the state of New York, where about 52% of the population is fully vaccinated, and where the rate of new hospital admissions has been steadily declining. Meanwhile, in a state like Missouri, where just 38% are fully vaccinated, the hospitalization rate is not only higher but has shown an increasing trend since mid-May, according to CDC data.

While it may feel like the country has turned a corner, Rubin warned "the pandemic hasn't ended."

Polls such as the Kaiser Family Foundation's have shown that about 1 in 5 adults say they won't get vaccinated, or will only do so if required. But that number is higher among certain groups -- like Republicans, White evangelical Christians, younger age groups and people who live in rural areas.

Delta's trajectory in the US

While experts agree that Delta poses a greater threat to unvaccinated populations, it's not a foregone conclusion it will follow the exact same trajectory in the US as it did in the UK, Helix's Lee said.

It's not just Delta -- other coronavirus variants worry scientists, also

In a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed, Lee and his colleagues describe how the US outbreak has unfolded somewhat differently:

In the US, Covid-19 cases caused by the Alpha variant (also known as B.1.1.7) grew to 70% in April but plateaued there -- at a much lower level than it did in the UK.

It's hard to know exactly why, Lee said. It may have something to do with the diverse set of policies that could impact the spread of the virus -- including public health measures and the vaccine rollout in the US.

Even so, from late April to mid-June, the Alpha variant fell from 70% to 42% of Covid-19 cases. And it's not just Delta that appears to be responsible, but also another variant of concern found in Brazil -- known as P.1 or Gamma.

"We think it'll be different primarily because of the presence of Gamma in the US that never really gained a foothold in the UK," Lee said.

As of early- to mid-June, both Delta and Gamma appear to account for similar proportions of cases in the US. But Delta appears to be spreading up to several times faster.

There may be trouble ahead as dangerous Covid-19 variant appears to cause hospitalization spike in a Missouri city

And while Gamma doesn't appear quite as transmissible, it does concern scientists for another reason: It appears less easy to neutralize with antibodies -- including those from people who have been vaccinated, those who have been previously infected, and certain monoclonal antibodies, as well.

"It's not the doomsday scenario where they don't work at all, but there may be some reduced efficacy," Lee explained.

And this may partly explain why Delta and Gamma appear not to spread in quite the same way in different parts of the country.

Lee's preprint showed that Delta appears to be "growing faster in counties with a lower vaccination rate," using a cutoff of 28.5% fully vaccinated on May 1.

Meanwhile, Gamma appears to have spread more among counties with higher vaccination rates, versus those below that cutoff.

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While the research draws from the strength of Helix's county-level testing data in many states, Lee says the study's findings may not be representative of the country as a whole.

But the message they carry is perhaps more universal:

Given the lifting of restrictions across the US, "At the end of the day, being vaccinated is still the best -- and potentially, at this point, the only -- tool we have," Lee said.

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