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Dr Anthony Fauci said in a television interview Thursday that it was “inevitable” that a new strain of COVID-19 appeared in Colorado and California – and predicted its spread in the United States, even though “it didn’t seem not be more virulent ”.
“We predicted that would be the case, while you have so many in the UK, which then spread to other countries in Europe and Canada, it was inevitable that it was here,” said Fauci on NBC News’ “Today”.
“You will hear reports from other states and more cases in the state that is already reported. Unfortunately, this is only the reality of how these viruses are spread, ”he continued.
“Our British colleagues have shown, clearly, that it is much more effective to spread from person to person,” Fauci said, adding that “the good news is that it doesn’t appear to be more virulent, to knowing how to make people sicker and leading to more death.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, also noted that the mutation “does not appear to escape the protection offered by the vaccines currently in use.”
He added: “But the fact that you have a virus that spreads more efficiently is something important and one that needs to be taken seriously.
“It just underscores the need to keep putting our foot on the ground and on the pedal, to ensure that we take the public health measures that we talk about all the time. Wearing masks, physical distancing, avoiding crowds in congregations, ”Fauci said.
Regarding the national immunization plan, Fauci told host Craig Melvin it was “disappointing” to have administered nearly 3 million – not the 20 million doses as previously planned – by the end. from 2020.
“Hopefully, as you move into the first two weeks of January, the ramp-up will get us to where we want to be,” he said.
“But there really needs to be a lot more effort in terms of resources for people, namely states, cities, counties, places where the vaccine actually enters the arms of individuals. We must support local groups, states and cities, to help them accomplish this task, which is a very stupendous task, ”he added.
The country’s leading infectious disease physician also revealed that changing the approach to vaccine administration was “under consideration.”
“I still think that if done correctly you can do a single dose, reserve doses for the second dose and keep doing the job. [done] but there is a lot of discussion about whether or not you want to expand the initial vaccination, getting more people vaccinated in the first round, ”he said.
“One of the problems with doing that is if you don’t get the second dose on time, you’re going to have a lag period. We know from the clinical trial that the optimal time is to give it one day, then for Moderna 28 days later, and for Pfizer 21 days later, ”continued Fauci.
“That’s what the data tells us, it’s the best way to do it. So if you want to stick with data, this is the way you need to do it. But you can argue, and some people do, to extend the doses by giving just one dose to all levels, and hoping that you will get the second dose in time to give it to individuals.
On Wednesday, Fauci said he expects the United States to gain sufficient herd immunity to COVID-19 through vaccination to regain “some semblance of normalcy” by fall 2021.
He made his remarks during an online discussion about the pandemic with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who announced that the new strain had been detected in his condition.
“As we move into January, the feeling is that we are going to gain ground so that we can catch up,” Fauci said, adding that he expected the vaccines to be widely available to the general public upon request from here April.
Assuming the vaccination campaign progresses as it should through May, June and July, “By the time we get to the start of fall, we’ll have enough herd immunity to really be able to return to a strong semblance of normalcy.” – schools, theaters, sporting events, restaurants, ”Fauci said, according to Reuters.
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