Fauci Claims COVID-19 Surge in Fall, Winter Unlikely to Happen; Could be Back to Normal Next Mother's Day

The nation's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci claimed the United States is unlikely to see a COVID-19 infection surge this fall and winter as it did last year. He cited the widespread vaccine supply as a game-changer that will deter potential outbreaks.

No repeat of COVID-19 surge in fall and winter this year

Fauci told NBC's Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, "Well, the fact that we have vaccines right now, Chuck, is a game changer. You might see blips if we achieve the president's targets, namely getting 70 percent of the population vaccinated by the Fourth of July, namely one single dose, and even more after that. However, if we manage them properly, you won't see the kind of spike we saw in the late fall and early winter."

More than 150 million Americans have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. And the Biden administration is now advising those who have not had their shot at getting them. According to claims, vaccine hesitancy is now the biggest roadblock to rising vaccination rates in the United States. Around 34 percent of Americans are entirely vaccinated, well short of the 70 percent to 80 percent that health authorities say is needed to maintain herd immunity in the US, as per The Hill via MSN.

Due to the progress health officials saw in preventing the spread of the seasonal flu with mask mandates, Fauci added that certain Americans might opt to continue wearing masks in public for at least part of the year, especially during flu season.

The US could be "back to normal" next Mother's Day

According to Fauci, the US could be back to normal by Mother's Day 2022 if more people will be completely vaccinated by then. "I'm hoping that by next Mother's Day, we'll see a significant improvement from what we're doing today. During an appearance on ABC's This Week, Fauci said, "I think we'll be about as close to normal as we can be."

Fauci and host George Stephanopoulos addressed ongoing vaccine campaigns in the United States, saying that momentum would continue to achieve a post-COVID-19 future. The country's top infectious disease expert also spoke about a coronavirus crisis in India, which has seen over 300,000 daily new COVID-19 cases since April.

According to Fauci, the US, which has recorded the world's worst overall COVID-19 death rate, has "no doubt" been undercounting fatal cases, Daily Mail reported. COVID-19 claimed the lives of over 581,000 people in the US. But a University of Washington report published on Thursday said that more than 900,000 people have died due to the virus.

When somebody has not been tested, coroners are free to attribute a death to a more direct cause and disregard COVID-19 entirely. According to a report released in January, coroners in Trump-supporting regions were more likely to dismiss COVID-19 as a cause of death.

Since the virus was first detected in China at the end of 2019, the United States has reported over 32.6 million cases. Following the end-of-year holidays, America was hit by a surge in cases and deaths, but since January, new infections have decreased as vaccine rates have increased.