Top infectious disease expert and Biden administration coronavirus figurehead Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that the ongoing vaccination rollout should be able to prevent a fourth wave of the virus from taking hold, but that a smaller increase in cases could still happen.
“I think that the vaccine is gonna prevent that from happening,” he said about the potential for another surge as states reopen their economies and people resume more normal activities.
While cases across the U.S. have risen slightly, deaths from the virus have continued to fall. This can likely be attributed to the fact that more than half of all people 65 and older have now been vaccinated.
Just about all willing nursing home and long term care residents and staff have been fully vaccinated at this point, and many of the cases now being reported are among younger populations. Some who may have been careful in order to protect elderly loved ones may have eased up on their self-restrictions now that parents or grandparents are vaccinated.
Vaccinations proceeding
Millions of Americans are now being vaccinated against the virus every day, and 150 million doses of the virus have been administered.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that all adult Americans will become eligible for vaccination on April 19, almost two weeks earlier than had been scheduled. Around 30 states have already made all adults eligible or have scheduled to do so this week.
Fauci warned that ending mitigation efforts too soon could fuel a surge, but states that have fully reopened like Texas and Florida are not seeing a large uptick in new cases or in hospitalizations or deaths.
Even new variants that have made the virus more contagious have not caused a surge. Vaccinations are effective against the new variants known so far.
Fear of the virus decreasing
A new Gallup poll conducted mid-March showed that fear about being infected with the coronavirus reached a one-year low this week, with only 35% saying they were very or somewhat fearful about getting the virus.
Fears peaked over the summer at 59%, and have fallen 14% since February. Fears about hospitals being overwhelmed or about being able to get tested if needed have also fallen.
Those who have been fully vaccinated were even less fearful about getting the virus, and their lack of fear seems justified given that the risk of dying from the virus after being fully vaccinated is almost zero.
Within a short period of time, maybe just a month or two, the majority of adult Americans will have been vaccinated for the virus and herd immunity will likely be reached, given the number of people who already have immunity from the virus.
If people like Fauci continue to insist on masks and social distancing when that time comes, we will know that they just want to control people and don’t really care about your health at all.
The post Fauci says vaccinations should prevent fourth wave of coronavirus first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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