Even as the United States broke a record for the number of Covid-19 deaths reported in one day, Dr. Paul Offit to CNN’s New Day that there were several reasons for hoping that the coronavirus situation could soon get “dramatically better.”
Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, acknowledged that the “ awful ” numbers are likely to last for a few more months, but said his reasons for optimism:
Mass vaccinations
There are two “remarkably effective” vaccines and “we are finally beginning to understand how to deliver en masse,” Offit said, citing examples such as the Pennsylvania Convention Center or Dodger Stadium. Meanwhile, two more vaccines – those from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca – are “around the corner,” he added.
Warmer weather
“The weather gets warmer, when the weather gets warmer, it gets much harder for this virus,” said Offit, explaining that the virus, which is spread by tiny droplets, spreads less easily when it’s hot and humid.
New political administration
Offit said the upcoming Biden administration “is not in this cult of denial” that surrounded the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, and would “tackle this problem head-on.”
Population-building immunity
The number of people reportedly infected with the corona virus – 23 million – is an underestimate, according to Offit. Many people have had an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infection and have never been tested. The number of those infected is likely closer to 65 or 70 million, he said.
“That’s 20% of the population that if they are exposed to this virus again, they won’t get sick,” he said, although it’s not clear how long the immunity lasts after infection.
If another 55 to 60% of the population can be vaccinated – something Offit said could be done with a million to one and a half million doses a day – “then I really think we’ll be spreading this virus by June.”