Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash in “State of the Union” if he thinks Americans will still need to wear masks next year, Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, replied: “You know, I think it’s possible that this is the case and again it really depends on what you mean by normality. ”
Fauci’s comments come as the death toll from Covid-19 in the United States approaches 500,000 and the country is approaching a full year in the fight against the virus. And while the United States is now launching vaccines to fight the pandemic, the nation’s leading infectious disease specialist has underscored the importance of mitigation measures to combat the aggressive virus and its emerging variants, as many Americans express pandemic fatigue.
Fauci told Bash that, although he cannot predict when the United States can return to operations as before the pandemic, he thinks that by the end of this year “we will have a significant degree of normality beyond the terrible burden that we have all been through in the last year.”
“As we enter autumn and winter, at the end of the year, I totally agree with (President Joe Biden) that we will be approaching a degree of normality,” said Fauci, who serves as Biden’s chief medical advisor.
The use of masks is critical to delaying the spread of the virus, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says they can help protect the people who wear them and those around them from transmission. of the virus.
The Biden administration has been pushing masks more aggressively than the Trump administration, with the president signing an executive order last month forcing interstate travelers to wear masks and demanding masks on federal properties. Biden also challenged Americans to wear masks during the first 100 days of his presidency to reduce the spread of the virus.
This story is emerging and will be updated.