Fauci says US may ‘return to some form of normality’ by middle of 2021 and new mutant Covid ‘should NOT’ impact vaccines
DR Anthony Fauci said the US may "return to some form of normality" by the middle of 2021 and new mutant virus "should not impact Covid-19 vaccines."
Disease expect Fauci made the comments on Wednesday after receiving the Moderna jab on live TV yesterday as the country battles a vicious second wave.
"[We would be] approaching what all of us would want, which is a return to some form of normality."
Fauci went on to say that there is "no indication" that the new strains of the virus mean that the vaccine will not work.
He listed Johnson, Astrazeneca, and the -based biotechnology company Novavax, all of whom are developing shots.
Top officials including President-elect , incoming First Lady Dr Jill Biden, outgoing VP, his wife Karen Pence, and House Speaker have all been vaccinated.
Fauci's comments came just hours after Pfizer and BioNTech revealed that they will supply the US with 100million extra doses of their coronavirus vaccine - with a second agreement.
Yesterday, at least 3,401 Americans died, marking America's second highest daily toll since December 16.
They highlighted areas of concern by county across the US and the data was put together from recent testing numbers and cases.
The indicates that there is not one state across the country without a "sustained hotspot."
Areas cover with a light green color – called a "low or moderate burden" – are mostly seen in , , , , , , and .
[We'll be] approaching what all of us would want, which is a return to some form of normality.
Dr Anthony Fauci
Another CDC data map revealed counties with a rapid rise in coronavirus cases within the past two weeks, showing CA and TN to have the biggest increase.
Despite the surge, AAA estimates that 2.94 million people are expected to travel by air in the US over the holidays from December 23 through January 3.
Meanwhile, Pfizer and BioNTech now hope to deliver all of the 100million extra Covid-19 doses by July 31 after a second agreement with the government.
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The Trump administration announced a deal with Pfizer to buy the additional doses today for $1.95billion.
Around 70 million extra doses will be rolled out by June 30, while the remaining 30 million will be delivered by July 31 the latest.