Surgeon General on Delta variant: If you are not vaccinated, you are in trouble

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says he is concerned that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is behind the rise in cases of coronavirus in the US and warned that the unvaccinated are at risk because it spreads faster than any known variant.

He has told CNN, if you are not fully vaccinated, you are in trouble.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States rose 10% this week as the highly contagious Delta variant gained further ground according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says the country's lagging vaccination rate coupled with the "hypertransmissible Delta variant," first detected in India, could account for the increase.

The NBC reports the Delta variant is about 60% more transmissible than current dominant strain in the US, the Alpha variant.

That variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, was more contagious than the original virus.

The Delta variant now accounts for a quarter of all new cases in the US, and has been detected in all 50 states. Its rapid spread is sure to make it the dominant US strain within the coming weeks.

The seven-day average of new cases this week was about 12,600 cases, up 10% compared to last week's average.

While new cases are nowhere near the January peak of more than 247,000 COVID-19 cases per day, the shift makes some experts "a little nervous."

As of today, 57.4% of US adults had been fully vaccinated according to the CDC.