The United States is unlikely to experience a fourth wave of coronavirus, but they will likely see the number of cases stabilize before continuing to decline, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told ABC’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday. .
Why does it matter: It comes amid growing concerns about a possible increase in the United States. Gottlieb noted that there are still many unanswered questions about the new variants of COVID-19 that could pose problems in the future.
What they are saying: Gottlieb said that a plateau in case numbers could be fueled by the spread of new variants – such as New York’s B. 1.526 variant, South Africa’s B.1.351 variant, and the United Kingdom’s B.1.1 variant. 7 – as well as the easing of security restrictions.
- “I don’t think we will have a fourth wave, I think what we are seeing across the country are parts of the country that are stabilizing and we are seeing increases in certain parts of the country.”
- “I think what you can see is a plateau for a period of time before we continue to decline, in large part because B.1.1.7 is becoming more prevalent, in large part because we are moving back too fast with respect to take our masks and suspend mitigation. “
But, but, but: Gottlieb said there are still doubts about the variants themselves.
- “What we don’t understand about 1,526 is whether or not people are being reinfected with it and whether people who could have been vaccinated are now being infected.”
- “One of the concerns about this particular variant is that it has that mutation that is also in the South African variant, in variant B.1.351, which we know that in certain cases is causing people who have already had coronavirus to be reinfected with it. “
The big picture: Gottlieb said the United States should start tracking more closely the variant cases of COVID-19.
- “We need to intervene in a much more aggressive way and start to sequence the cases, especially people who report that they have been vaccinated before or have already taken COVID”.