Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that he believed the worst was yet to come in the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Americans should prepare to “increase” the post-holiday season in some cases.
“We’re very likely to see a post-season increase (in the sense of Christmas, New Year’s Eve) or, as I described, an upward increase,” Fauci told CNN presenter Dana Bash, a “State of the Union.”
Asked if he predicts the “worst is yet to come,” Fauci said, “I do.”
“If you look at the slope, the slope of the cases we’ve experienced as we get to late fall and early early winter is really quite worrisome,” said the director of the National Allergy Institute and Infectious diseases said.
Fauci, however, said the COVID-19 vaccine is still on its way to reaching healthy Americans in April, although the initial release lags behind the 20 million dose target for December.
Fauci said he believes the U.S. will “catch up” in the coming months, although so far only about 1.9 million doses of vaccines have been administered.
“Of course, when you compare 2 million to 20 million, it’s a big difference,” Fauci said.
“Whenever you deploy a comprehensive program that is a complete vaccine program with a new vaccine like this, at first it always starts slow and then it starts to gain momentum.”
Fauci said he believes the launch will continue to “gain more and more momentum” in the spring.
“I think we will catch up with the projection that when we get to April, to mid-April, you will have taken the people with the highest priority and already take them into account, and then anyone can be vaccinated,” Fauci said . .