By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters). The last major COVID-19 outbreak in America is probably the Delta coronavirus variant. However, Scott Gottlieb, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner said that there is still much to be done globally.

Gottlieb, the author of Uncontrolled Spread, a book about the U.S. response, stated that “I believe this Delta wave may be the last major surge in SARS-CoV-2 infected U.S.,” in an interview.

While Delta may be declining in Southern U.S. state, he stated that infection rates are rising in West and Midwest states.

His statement was, “It’s mostly coursed through the U.S.A. So maybe by Thanksgiving we’ll see prevalence levels decline nationally in a less uniform scale”.

Gottlieb said that while infections have declined slightly in Northeastern, it is likely to rise, despite being one of the highest vaccinated parts of the country.

“I think Delta is still going to sweep through Northeast,” he stated.

Gottlieb is a member of the board of directors Pfizer Inc (NYSE:), who co-developed COVID-19’s most popular vaccine with German partner BioNTechSE (NASDAQ:), stated that the next challenge will be to get vaccine into remote areas.

COVID-19’s vaccine producers will collectively produce 10 to 15 billion vaccine doses over the course of 12 months.

According to him, the greatest challenge isn’t supply, with an estimated global population of around 7.5 billion people and approximately 6 billion drugs already being distributed.

“The biggest challenge will be to get distribution in difficult-to reach settings. That’s really where the focus is.”

He stated that the World Health Organization should be focusing on the building of global infrastructure.

“I believe that is where the world should put some money. “I believe the supply will be available.”