Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Work and Pensions Committee (HELP) hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington DC on June 30 from 2020 to Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, warned that Covid-19 cases in the United States could return to the plateau at a very high level, even when the nation quickly administers three vaccines.
Fauci told the Center for Strategic and International Studies during an interview Tuesday afternoon that the decline in cases seen since early January appears to be “going down a little more slowly.” “Which means we could get back to the plateau at an unacceptably high level.”
The nation records at least 58,100 new cases of Covid-19 and at least 1,560 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using data from Johns Hopkins University. The United States peaked at about 250,000 cases a day in early January after the winter break. Cases have increased before falling and reaching the plateau twice as much over the past year.
Some health experts fear the U.S. may see a “fourth wave” of infections as new highly contagious variants continue to spread and some states lift restrictions aimed at containing the virus. Top U.S. officials, including Fauci, say backing restrictions too soon could reverse the downward trajectory of infections and delay the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.
“There’s a light at the end of this tunnel, but we need to be prepared so that the path it can follow isn’t smooth,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said earlier this month.
Fauci on Tuesday urged Americans to wear masks, socially distance themselves and get vaccinated, saying the virus cannot mutate if it cannot infect guests and reproduce.
He also said the United States is now evaluating the impact of “self-produced” variants, including the one believed to have originated in New York. The strain, which researchers call B.1.526, is spreading rapidly in New York City and carries a mutation that could weaken the effectiveness of vaccines, according to the New York Times.
Last week, Fauci said the Biden administration was taking the appearance of the New York stump “very seriously.” He said U.S. officials should “monitor” the tension, including the possibility that it could evade protection from antibody treatments and vaccines.