Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on June 30, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, warned that Covid-19 cases in the United States could return to a very high level, even if the nation quickly administers three vaccines.
The drop in the number of cases since early January now appears to be “declining a little more slowly,” Fauci told the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Tuesday afternoon. “Which means we can plateau again at an unacceptably high level.”
The country records at least 58,100 new Covid-19 cases and at least 1,560 virus-related deaths every day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using data from Johns Hopkins University. The US peaked in early January after the winter break with nearly 250,000 cases per day. Cases have skyrocketed in the past year before falling and flattening them twice in the past year.
Some health experts fear that the US could experience a “fourth wave” of infections as new, highly contagious variants continue to spread and some states lift restrictions designed to contain the virus. Top US officials, including Fauci, say rolling back restrictions too early could reverse the downward trajectory of infections and delay the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.
“There is light at the end of this tunnel, but we have to be prepared that the road may not be smooth ahead of us,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky earlier this month.
Fauci on Tuesday urged Americans to wear masks, distance themselves socially, and get vaccinated, saying the virus cannot mutate if it cannot infect and replicate hosts.
He also said the US is now assessing the impact of “homegrown” variants, including the variant believed to originate in New York. The species, which researchers call B.1.526, is rapidly spreading in New York City and carrying a mutation that could weaken the effectiveness of vaccines, according to The New York Times.
Last week, Fauci said the Biden administration was taking the rise of the New York strain “very seriously.” He said US officials should keep an eye on the strain, including the possibility that it could bypass protections from antibody treatments and vaccines.