Fauci warns that it is “possible” for Americans to still wear masks next year.

Dr. Anthony Fauci gave a reality check to all those who think that the rapid vaccination campaign in the United States could soon mean that they will be able to throw masks in the trash. Even if the United States can achieve “a significant degree of normality” by the end of this year, this may not necessarily mean the end of the masks, Fauci told CNN. When CNN’s Dana Bash asked whether Americans would still have to wear masks next year, Fauci hesitated to give a definitive answer. “You know, I think it’s possible that this is the case,” Fauci said.

Fauci explained that if the masks would still be recommended or not, it would actually be based on the circulation of the virus. “It depends on the level of dynamics of the virus in the community,” said Fauci. “I want it to continue to fall to a baseline so low that there is virtually no threat.” The key is the combination of wearing masks and being vaccinated. “If you combine the vaccination of most people in the country with obtaining a very, very low virus level in the community, then I believe you will be able to say that, for the most part, you don’t necessarily have to wear masks,” he added. .

Fauci appeared on several Sunday news programs, when the United States was about to hit 500,000 coronavirus deaths. “It’s really awful,” said Fauci. “It is something historic. It is nothing like we have been through in the last 102 years, since the 1918 flu pandemic ”. The first known death of COVID-19 in the United States occurred in early February 2020. Four months later, the death toll reached 100,000. Worldwide, nearly 2.5 million people died of coronavirus.