A new poll found that 49% of Republican men said they would not be vaccinated against Covid-19 and Dr. Vin Gupta said it would “determine the trajectory of this pandemic” to the detriment of all Americans.
“All forecasts at the moment say that we will overcome the worst of this fact normally by the end of June, beginning of July. This, however, depends on people actually receiving the vaccine by 75% to 80% of eligible adults in this time period, ”said Gupta, who works in an intensive care unit. “If not, if there is such high skepticism or hesitation, we will not get there.”
Gupta, a lung doctor and NBC medical collaborator, pointed to models from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Measurement and Assessment (IHME) that suggest the U.S. could still experience 100,000 cases and at least 1,000 deaths. per day if rates of eligible adults receiving vaccinated were below projections.
Joe Biden promised a quick return to normalcy during his first speech in the early hours as president Thursday night.
“After this long and hard year, it will make this Independence Day really special, where we not only mark our independence as a nation, but we begin to mark our independence from this virus,” he said.
Gupta, who is an assistant professor affiliated with the IHME at the University of Washington, told CNBC on “The News with Shepard Smith” that Covid will be something Americans live with and will become more of a virus. endemic, meaning it is regularly found among the population.
“There will still be transmission of the virus, but people will not get sick and end up in the hospital,” Gupta said. “This is the hope that only a small segment of society can remain vulnerable and we can manage it. That will be the norm; management, not complete eradication.”