Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on June 30, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | AFP via Getty Images
Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser, warned that cases of Covid-19 in the United States could be at a very high level again, even though the country is rapidly administering three vaccines.
The decline in cases since early January now appears to be “slowing down”, Fauci said in an interview with the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Tuesday afternoon. “Which means we might plateau again at an unacceptably high level.”
The country records at least 58,100 new Covid-19 cases each day and at least 1,560 virus-related deaths, based on an average of seven days calculated by CNBC using Johns Hopkins University data. The US peaked at almost 250,000 cases a day in early January after the winter break. Cases increased before falling twice more in the past year and collapsing.
Some health experts fear that the US may see a “fourth wave” of infections as new, highly contagious variants continue to spread and some states introduce restrictions to contain the virus. U.S. top officials, including Fauci, say the return of restrictions could reverse the downward trajectory of infections and delay the country’s recovery from the pandemic.
“There is a light at the end of this tunnel, but we must be prepared that the road ahead may not be smooth,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, said earlier this month.
Fauci on Tuesday urged Americans to wear masks, take social distances and get them vaccinated, saying the virus cannot mutate if it cannot infect and repeat the hosts.
He also said that the US is now assessing the impact of ‘homemade’ variants, including those believed to have originated in New York. The strain, which researchers call B.1.526, spreads rapidly in New York City and carries a mutation that could impair the effectiveness of vaccines, according to The New York Times.
Last week, Fauci said the government in Biden takes the rise of the New York tribe very seriously. He said U.S. officials “should keep an eye on the tension,” including the possibility that it could evade the protection of antibody treatments and vaccines.