Dr. Kavita Patel predicted that the fourth of July would be a turning point or a turning point in the fight against Covid for the United States.
“If we can achieve herd immunity … we will be able to suppress the virus’ activity to the levels we see with the flu virus,” Patel told CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith on Thursday night. “Going from a pandemic and a kind of global emergency to an endemic where it’s just a regular part of what we deal with is something we can fully expect,” the former Obama administration assistant added.
While her prediction is in line with President Biden’s goal to bring the country to some extent by Independence Day, she noted that regular reinforcements or Covid vaccinations are likely to be needed to move forward, especially as the transmissible variants spread.
Pfizer has released new data from Israel, indicating that the two-shot vaccine is approximately 97% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid cases and 94% effective in asymptomatic cases. The analysis further shows high levels of protection against the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant from the United Kingdom, which has also spread in the USA.
As of Friday morning, one in ten Americans has been fully vaccinated – and in total, more than 98 million doses have been administered nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency also reported that 62% of all Americans age 65 and older received at least one dose and nearly a third of them were fully vaccinated.
Patel expects the Food and Drug Administration to fully approve the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines “soon”, especially as more data accumulates. All that has been cleared up in the US for emergencies.