Dr. Fauci Says Possible Second Wave of COVID-19 in the Fall Should Not Be Underestimated

The United States' leading infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has predicted a second wave of the COVID-19 in the autumn.

Second Wave 'Inevitable'

According to Fauci, "in my mind, it's inevitable that we will have a return of the virus" in the fall, but he also indicated that it was probable that it "never even went away," reported Newsweek.

The top doctor thinks that the second wave in the fall is unavoidable, as with the pattern of past pandemics.

Tally of Infections and Fatalities

There have been over 24 confirmed cases globally and fatalities inching closer to 1 million every day.

Vaccine

Teams of scientists across the globe are developing multiple vaccine candidates. One manufacturer, Pfizer, stated that it expects its vaccine to be distributed in the United States before 2020 concludes.

Dr. Fauci is also the Director of the United States National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He indicated that lessons learned from the current epidemic translate that America is going to be much more prepared.

The last 1918 pandemic resulted in more damage in the second wave than its initial wave.

Testing Capacity

According to him regarding America's testing capacity in May, "I'm feeling better about it as we go by with the weeks that go by, and we see that we're getting more and more capability of testing," reported MSN.

Against Complacency

Almost 30 states have confirmed downward trends in COVID-19 infections. But Dr. Fauci, amid the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19, warned the country not to let its collective guard down with the flu season's arrival.

"We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter, because it's not going to be easy," according to the director on Thursday during a panel of doctors from Harvard Medical School, reported New York Post.

On the Statistics

The leading infectious disease expert stated that the statistics are disturbing. According to him, the US was beginning the flu season with a high foundation of an estimated 40,000 COVID-19 cases daily and fatalities averaging an estimated 1,000 per day.

"Don't ever, ever underestimate the potential of the pandemic. And don't try and look at the rosy side of things." he stated during the panel discussion, reported CNBC.

He noted that a 16% decrease from two weeks ago on the COVID-19 cases per day remains to be an unacceptable baseline.

Fauci noted that as one region in America keeps COVID-19 under control, another hot spot surfaces, and that spikes unavoidably appear whenever states lift social distancing measures.

Economists are fearful that COVID-19 could return with a vengeance. According to the majority of economists in a June National Association for Business Economics survey, a second wave is identified as the largest downside risk to the nation's economy this year.

COVID-19 cases have reached an estimated 400,000 in the nation in early April and further increased toward the end of the month to over 1 million.

Occurrence of Second Wave Uncertain

According to Dr. Fauci regarding the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19, "We often talk about the possibility of a second wave, or of an outbreak when you're reopening. We don't have to accept that as an inevitability.

"And particularly when people start thinking about the fall, I want people to appreciate that it could happen but it is not inevitable."