Social media conversations about the rise in COVID delta cases are full of assumptions about the 50% of Americans who are not yet fully vaccinated for COVID-19. USC researchers have been studying who they are, as well as the various reasons that are holding them back from vaccinations.

“We are entering a new phase of the pandemic, and delta is the new game. It is remarkably more infectious and it’s winning the race against public health protection at this time because it’s coming faster than what we’ve seen before,” said Paula Cannon, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Until more people are vaccinated, we will remain at risk of new variants like this emerging that are more difficult to control.”

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