Washington (CNN) – Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that it is “possible” that Americans will still need to wear masks by 2022 to protect themselves from the coronavirus. This even though the United States could achieve “a significant degree of normalcy” by the end of 2021.
When asked by CNN’s Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” show if he thinks Americans should still wear face masks next year, Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, replied, “You know, I think that might be the case and again, it really depends on what you mean by normality. “
Fauci’s comments come as the COVID-19 death toll in the United States approaches 500,000 and the country is nearing a full year in its fight against the virus. And as the United States continues to vaccinate to fight the pandemic, the country’s chief 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 cannot predict when the United States will resume operating as it did before the pandemic, he believes that by the end of this year “we will have a significant degree of normalcy beyond the awful burden we all have. last year. ‘
“As we move into fall and winter, I fully agree (with President Joe Biden) (with President Joe Biden) that we will be approaching some degree of normalcy,” said Fauci, who serves as Biden’s chief medical adviser.
Wearing masks is critical to slowing the spread of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who say they can help protect both the people wearing them and those around them from transmission of the virus.
The Biden administration has pushed the use of masks more aggressively than the Trump administration. President Biden last month signed an executive order mandating interstate travelers to wear face masks and requiring masks in federal buildings. Biden also challenged Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency to reduce the spread of the virus.
Maggie Fox and Gregory Wallace from CNN contributed to this report.