Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about “State of the Union” if he thinks Americans will still have to wear masks next year, Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, replied, “You know, I think it’s possible that is the case and, again, it really depends on what you mean by normality. ”
Fauci’s comments come as the US Covid-19 death toll approaches 500,000 and the country approaches a full year in its fight against the virus. And although the US is now steadily rolling out vaccines to combat the pandemic, the country’s top infectious disease expert underlined the importance of mitigation measures to combat the aggressive virus and its emerging variants, as many Americans are experiencing pandemic fatigue.
Fauci told Bash that while he can’t predict when the US will resume operating as it did before the pandemic, he thinks that by the end of this year, “we will have a significant degree of normalcy beyond the terrible burden we all face. last year. “
“As we move into fall and winter, towards the end of the year, I fully agree with (President Joe Biden) that we will be approaching some degree of normalcy,” said Fauci, who serves as Biden’s chief medical adviser.
Wearing a mask is critical to slowing the spread of the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which say they can help protect both the people wearing them and those around them from transmission. the virus.
The Biden administration has pushed the wearing of masks more aggressively than the Trump administration, with the president last month signing an executive order requiring interstate travelers to wear masks and requiring masks on federal property. Biden also challenged Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency to reduce the spread of the virus.
This story breaks and will be updated.