Former White House adviser says dangerous coronavirus variant is 'like Covid on steroids' - CNN

You can be around people for less time and still get exposed."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled the Delta variant a "variant of concern," a designation given to strains of a virus that scientists believe are more transmissible or can cause more severe disease.

The CDC says the variant accounts for about 10% of coronavirus cases in the United States.

Slavitt said the variant provides people with one more reason to get vaccinated.

"If you have been vaccinated, you have very little to worry about," he said.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN on Tuesday the Delta variant "is rapidly increasing here in the United States."

He said there is data that indicates it might cause more severe illness.

"That still needs to be understood more clearly, but these are two important concerns and they explain in part ...

why this has become the dominant variant in the UK, where over 90% of cases are the Delta variant," Murthy said.

The study found the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization after two doses.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during CNBC's Evolve Global Summit that he feels "very good" about the vaccine when it comes to variants of concern, but the company has a system in place in case a variant emerges that requires a more tailored vaccine.

Murthy said there isn't enough data to indicate the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine in regard to the Delta variant, but the vaccine has shown it can help prevent hospitalizations and deaths when people are infected with other strains.

Fireworks displays were put on at various locations across the state Tuesday night to celebrate essential workers and the lifting of restrictions.

"This is a momentous day, and we deserve it because it has been a long, long road," Cuomo said.

Larry Hogan said his state will lift Covid-19 restrictions, including mask requirements, and the state of emergency on July 1.

One month after Sandhills Pediatrics in Southern Pines, North Carolina, started offering the Covid-19 vaccine, the practice administered 940 doses of the Pfizer vaccine -- 268 went not to patients, but adults over the age of 23.

Dr.