Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that he believes the worst is yet to come in the COVID-19 pandemic – and that Americans should brace for the “hike” after the holiday period in cases.
“We could very well see a post-season – in the sense of Christmas, New Years – or as I described it, a wave on a wave,” Fauci told CNN anchor Dana Bash about “State of the Union. . “
Asked if he predicts that “the worst is yet to come,” Fauci said, “I do.”
“When you look at the slope, the number of cases we had when we came in late fall and the upcoming early winter, that’s really, really disturbing,” said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
However, Fauci said the COVID-19 vaccine is still on track to reach healthy Americans in April – despite the initial rollout falling short of the December 20 million dose target.
Fauci said he believes the US will “catch up” in the coming months, even though only about 1.9 million doses of the vaccines have been administered so far.
“If you compare 2 million to 20 million, that’s of course a big difference,” said Fauci.
“Whenever you roll out a big program that is a comprehensive vaccine program with a brand new vaccine like this, it always starts off slow at first and then starts to gain momentum.”
Fauci said he believes the rollout will “gain momentum in the spring.”
“I think we’ll catch up with the forecast that by the time we get to April, mid-late April, you’ve taken the people with high priority and are already accountable and everyone can get vaccinated,” Fauci said.