Dr Anthony Fauci has revealed that there have been “very serious discussions” between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow people who have received the full course of COVID-19 vaccinations to socialize together.
Fauci, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said “common sense” showed the risk was “extremely low”.
Fauci spoke as the number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to its lowest level since Nov. 4, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
His data on Thursday showed that hospitalizations were declining again, as every day since January 12, 2021.
His words gave rise to the hope that the days of forced quarantine, social distancing, and the wearing of masks in private spaces could soon be counted.
“I think what you’ll start to see very soon (we’ve had some very serious discussions with our CDC colleagues) is: what happens when you get two people vaccinated,” Chris Cuomo told CNN Thursday night.
Fauci appeared on CNN Thursday night and said social restrictions could be lifted.
“Before getting vaccinated, if they wanted to come and visit you, they would have to put on a quarantine for a while, get tested and wear a mask.
“What we’re saying right now, even though it’s not backed up by the data, but by common sense, if you have two people vaccinated and you want to get together, … the risk is not zero, the risk becomes extremely low. ‘
The United States has recorded 28,410,917 cases since the pandemic broke out and caused 508,114 deaths.
Fauci said the realization of the power of the vaccine to change ordinary interactions with friends and family will likely encourage people to get vaccinated.
He said that once his daughter has had both blows, like him, he will invite her to “give him a big hug,” which he hasn’t done in a year.
“So we’re going to start seeing people say, go, the more people get vaccinated, I can have dinner with my incoming family member, I can go see my mom, if she’s vaccinated.”
Faomo asked him if he expected to see restaurants, airlines and businessmen applying for some sort of vaccination “passport,” Fauci replied, “I think you’ll see a gradual increase.”
He added: “There will be a personal, social and public health benefit.”
On Thursday, Joe Biden marked the administration of the 50 million dose of COVID-19 vaccine from his oath.
“The more people get vaccinated, the faster we will overcome this pandemic,” said Biden, who noted that his administration is surpassing its promise to deliver 100 million shots in its first 100 days in office.
Although bad weather is hampering vaccination programs in some areas, Biden said progress has been excellent.
“We’re halfway there: 50 million shots in 37 days,” Biden said.
“That’s weeks ahead of schedule.”
In all, more than 45 million Americans have been given at least one dose of Pfizer and Moderna approved vaccines since they received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in December, and more than 20 millions received the necessary doses.
Biden noted the promise of a third vaccine to receive approval as soon as this weekend, as Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose candidate will be reviewed by the FDA.
“We have a plan to deploy it as quickly as Johnson & Johnson can get it,” Biden said.
There are currently 52,669 hospitalized across the country and 3,138 deaths from COVID-19 were recorded on Thursday.
This is higher than the death toll of 2,447 on Wednesday.
On Thursday, while Fauci was speaking, hospitalizations were at their lowest level since Nov. 4
Fauci said that while vaccines certainly helped control the pandemic, they were not the only thing.
‘I don’t think that’s the only factor. I think it’s a combination of things, ”he said, noting that the December and January hike was caused by unsafe behavior, such as traveling on vacation, which has now slowed.
And he said people were right to worry about mutations, but the key to stopping the mutation was to stop the spread.
A new variant, self-produced in the US and known as B.1.427 / B.1.429, which emerged in California, has emerged as a variant of concern.
New studies have suggested that infection with the variant increases the viral load by about twice as many strains of the virus that originally circulated, spreading at least as easily as other recent variants, and could be up to 11 times more lethal.
The variant was first identified in May 2020 and was virtually non-existent until October.
In a recent study, which is expected to be published on the medRxiv.org server later this week, the University of California, San Francisco, examined 2,172 virus samples collected between September 2020 and January 2021 across California. .
In January, the new variant would account for more than 50 percent of all coronavirus samples genetically analyzed.
In a short time, it had become the most common strain in the country. It could account for 90 percent of infections in the state by the end of March, scientists told the Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Charles Chiu, a professor of laboratory medicine and an expert in infectious diseases at the UCSF, told the newspaper that the virus appeared to be more transmissible than previous strains by 19 to 24 percent.
California’s own production variant, called B.1.427 / B.1.429, currently accounts for 50% of all cases in the state and is estimated to account for 90% of all cases by the end of March (above )
Separate teams of researchers have found another variant of the coronavirus: this one in New York City.
The new variant can avoid current vaccines. But vaccine companies are already in the case, CBS2’s Dr. Max Gomez reported Thursday.
Dr. David Ho’s team at Columbia University detected the mutation.
He said it alters the rise in protein, allowing the virus to dodge antibodies that could trigger a weaker immune response.
“We don’t know if it’s more transmissible, but we see it increasing in prevalence within our patient population,” Ho told CBS2.
Fauci said: “The best way to prevent the emergence of new variants is to stop their spread.
“Viruses do not mutate unless they spread.
Fauci said a vaccine would provide a level of antibodies that was a “cushion,” although it was not specifically adapted to the mutation.
“The higher the level of protection, the more there is an overflow, if you will,” he said.
