Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that he does not rule out that Americans still need to wear masks in 2022 – even with the country returning to a certain degree of “normality”.
When asked in CNN’s “State of the Union” whether masks will be needed next year, Fauci replied, “I think it’s possible that this is the case and, again, it really depends on what you mean by normality.”
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said he does not know when the country will return to pre-pandemic life, but that he believes that by the end of the year “we will have a significant degree of normality in addition to the terrible burden that we all endure in the last year. “
“As we enter autumn and winter, at the end of the year, I agree with [President Joe Biden] completely that we will be approaching a degree of normality, ”said Fauci.
“It may not be exactly what it was in November 2019, but it will be much better than what we are doing now.”
But he said the use of the mask would depend on the prevalence of the virus.
“It depends on the level of dynamics of the virus that is in the community and this is very important because … if you see the level dropping very, very low, I want it to continue dropping to a baseline where there is practically no threat – it will never be zero – but a minimal, minimal threat that you will be exposed to someone infected, ”said Fauci.