- Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday the United States was “out of the pandemic phase.”
- The seven-day average of new cases per day is around 47,000, down from a peak of more than 800,000 in January, CDC data shows.
- But Fauci acknowledged the US likely will never eradicate COVID-19.
The United States is “out of the pandemic phase“after more than two years of COVID-19 causing tens of millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser for President Joe Biden.
Fauci, who is also the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the comment Tuesday on “PBS NewsHour.”
“We are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase,” Fauci told PBS’ Judy Woodruff. “Namely, we don’t have 900,000 new infections a day, and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations, and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now.”
The World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemicwhich remains ongoing according to the organization’s designation.
A pandemic is a global outbreak of a serious new illness that requires “sustained transmission throughout the world,” Fauci told USA TODAY in February 2020.
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According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention datathe seven-day average of new cases per day was more than 47,000 as of Monday, down from a peak of more than 800,000 in January.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations was also down to 1,800 compared to more than 21,500 in January, and deaths had also fallen to 330 from more than 3,400 in January 2021 before vaccinations were more widespread, CDC data shows.
However, cases and hospitalizations were increasing from the week prior, according to CDC data.
Although metrics in the United States have improved since the winter, Fauci said he does not believe the country would eradicate COVID-19. And, “if you will look at the global situation, there is no doubt this pandemic is still ongoing,” I added.
Speaking with the Washington Post on Wednesday, Fauci expanded on his comments, acknowledging the ongoing global reach of the virus.
“The world is still in a pandemic. There’s no doubt about that. Don’t anybody get any misinterpretation of that. We are still experiencing a pandemic,” Fauci told the newspaper.
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The winter in the United States was the “full-blown pandemic phase” of the virus, but the country was now reaching a control phase, he told the Post.
Fauci told PBS that intermittent vaccination would likely be necessary to maintain the virus at a lower level, but he did not say how often that would be.
Since the peak of cases, many cities and states have lifted restrictions including mask mandates and vaccination requirements to enter certain businesses. A federal judge in Florida this month voided a mandate requiring masks on flights and other public transit, though the Justice Department is appealing.
Earlier this week, the new White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha described the United States as being at “an inflection point” with the virus as cases are ticking up but far lower than the winter peak driven by the omicron variant.
Contributing: Joel Shannon
www.usatoday.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism