American clinicians work in the former lobby of Providence St. Mary Medical Center, in Southern California, US, on December 23, 2020. (Photo by AFP)
Top US infectious disease specialist, Anthony Fauci, says the country could return to normal life by early fall next year, if the nation "diligently" gets vaccinated against the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 20 million people and killed nearly 342,000 across America.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an online discussion on Wednesday that the US will get enough collective immunity through vaccinations to regain "some semblance of normality" by fall 2021.
Fauci, however, said the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is off to a much slower start than expected.
"By the time we get to the early fall, we will have enough good herd immunity to be able to really get back to some strong semblance of normality - schools, theaters, sports events, restaurants," he said.
According to the doctor, herd immunity - where enough people have antibodies to diminish the spread of the virus - could be achieved only if about 70% to 85% of the population gets inoculated.
He said that widespread vaccination could not be possible sooner than April, though.
"If we then diligently vaccinate people in April, May, June, July, then we will gradually and noticeably get a degree of protection approaching herd immunity," Fauci said.
The Donald Trump administration had initially promised at least 20 million vaccine doses would be administered by the end of December.
But, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 12.4 million doses have been distributed and nearly 2.8 million have been administered, just days away from the end of the year.
Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir said the US is on track to distribute 20 million vaccine doses by the first week of January.
Fauci also commented on a more infectious coronavirus variant - initially emerged in Britain - that has been spreading across much of the United States for weeks.
"It appears that this particular mutation does make the virus better at transmitting from one person to another," he said.
The doctor said individuals infected with earlier forms of SARS-CoV-2 "dont seem to get re-infected by this," meaning that any immunity already acquired "is protective against this particular strain."
The coronavirus variant, known as B.1.1.7, had been confirmed in a Southern California patient, on Wednesday.
According to the California Department of Public Health, the patient, a 30-year-old man, has no known "travel history," adding that "this is not an isolated case in San Diego County."
It said that this is suggesting that the variant is spreading within the community.
The first reported case of new strain of COVID-19 was detected in Colorado, officials there announced Tuesday.
US expands COVID testing to more intl. passengers
The government on Monday began requiring all airline passengers arriving from Britain - including US citizens - to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure.
Officials at the White House may also expand coronavirus testing requirements for international air travelers beyond Britain as early as next week.
In the meantime, California has reached yet another grim milestone in the pandemic, recording 25,000 coronavirus related deaths on Wednesday.
US sets new COVID records
There has also been an alarming surge of infections and hospitalizations in the United States.
The US, the worst-hit country in the world, has recorded 3,927 deaths on Wednesday, according to a count released by Johns Hopkins University.
The Baltimore-based university said some 189,671 new cases had also been recorded in the 24 hours.
That brought the US total to 19,715,899 cases of COVID-19 and 341,845 deaths since the pandemic began.
Fauci has warned earlier this week that the worst of the pandemic was likely yet to come, after major holiday gatherings.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/21622
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