The former FDA commissioner has said he believes the downward trend in coronavirus infection rates will continue through the summer.
Dr Scott Gottlieb said that although new variants of the virus are emerging that still pose a risk of infection, he believes rates will continue to fall.
The daily average of deaths and hospitalizations has dropped to the lowest levels since before the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays.
There were 1,286 daily deaths in the last 24 hours, with the lowest figures since October 23, at the start of this winter’s wave of infections.
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said the United States is likely to “continue to see declining infection rates in the spring and summer.”
The number of daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths is now falling
On Sunday, the number of people currently hospitalized with the virus was 56,159, marking 40 consecutive days of falling hospitalization.
“This has been a tragic loss in the United States, but we should be optimistic, in my opinion. I think we will continue to see infection rates decline during the spring and summer. Right now, they are falling dramatically. I think that these trends are likely to continue, ”Gottlieb, who is part of Pfizer’s board, told CBS News.
“With rising vaccination rates and the fact that we’ve injected about a third of the country, that’s enough to protect immunity. If we look at New York and New Jersey counties that had a prevalence over 45%, meaning more than 45% of the population was infected in the winter, it didn’t really have a big winter rise.
“Once you reach about 40% of the population with some kind of protected immunity, you don’t have immunity from the herd because it will continue to be transferred, but it will be transferred at a much slower rate,” Gottlieb explained.
RN Robert Villa (right) gives a Modern Covid-19 vaccine to Armando Montes at the newly opened City of Los Angeles vaccination site at Pierce College
There have now been 40 consecutive days of hospitalizations
Gottlieb said he believes Pfizer and other vaccine-making companies will be able to “prepare much better for the fall” and develop drivers for the new variants of the virus that are circulating.
‘I think we will have spring and summer to solve it. I don’t think we will ever achieve total herd immunity. Hopefully, we will vaccinate the elderly population to protect them from dying from it, but that will continue to spread. ”
Gottlieb also said he believed this fall might be the right time for schoolchildren to receive the vaccine as well.
‘I think it’s possible that this vaccine will go to the high school population in the fall. We have seen the spread more in secondary schools than in primary schools. There is less risk in school-age children. I don’t think this vaccine will be passed on to children under 12 in the fall.
“It may be a matter of reformulating vaccines at a lower dose for younger children because they develop a more robust immune response to the vaccine,” Gottlieb theorized.
Drivers and passengers are waiting in line for Covid-19 vaccines administered by National Guard members at a joint state and federal vaccination site of COVID-19 on the campus of the Los Angeles State University in Los Angeles on Wednesday
More than 28 million cases of COVID-19 have shaken the United States since the virus hit the country almost exactly a year ago.
The effect of the virus was so severe that it took a full year out of the average life expectancy in the United States, the largest decline since World War II.
To date, less than 15% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of vaccine, nearly 43 million receive at least one vaccine and nearly 18 million receive a second vaccine, according to U.S. statistics.
Some premises reduce restrictions, such as indoor canteens, and move to reopen schools, even when millions await their shots, sparking debates about the safety of teachers, students and others.
The total number of people who have died in the United States due to the virus is rapidly approaching 500,000 people
Financial pressures also continue to weigh even as economists express optimism for the coming year.
Congress weighs in on Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, with the House expected to vote on it this week and the Senate to try to approve it before March 14th.
The White House said Sunday it was planning a commemorative event at which Biden would make statements.
A White House spokesman said the president along with First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Knight Doug Emhoff would hold a moment of silence on Monday and that there would be a candle-lighting ceremony in the evening.