Topline
In contrast to Donald Trump, who continues to insist that the coronavirus pandemic is going to “end quickly” and the United States is “turning the corner,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday, amid a record-shattering spike in new cases, that everyday life for many Americans may not return to normal until the end of 2021 or into 2022.
Key Facts
In a virtual interview with Melbourne University’s dean of medicine on Wednesday, Dr. Fauci, one of the government’s top infectious disease specialists and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said he was confident that a Covid-19 vaccine would be available in the next few months.
However, Fauci stated he thinks the United States won’t “start having some semblance of normality” until “the end of 2021 and perhaps into the next year.”
Fauci noted the United States is “getting worse and worse,” as evidenced by an average of 73,094 new cases per day over the last week, an increase of nearly 40% from two weeks earlier.
Dr. Fauci also blamed the politicization of face coverings and the hostility toward mask-wearing for playing a significant role in the spread of Covid-19 throughout the United States.
Crucial Quote
“People were ridiculed for wearing masks. It depended on which side of a political spectrum you were at, which is so painful to me as a physician, a scientist and a public health person,” Fauci said. “If there’s one area of life where there should not be divisiveness, it is the health of your nation.”
Key Background:
Last Friday, at an event in Florida, the president told his supporters that the coronavirus pandemic was going to “end quickly” and that “we’re rounding the turn, we’re rounding the corner, we’re rounding the corner beautifully.” On Tuesday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy reported that the Trump Administration has “taken several actions” to “defeat this disease” and credited the president with “ending the Covid-19 pandemic.” Trump has repeatedly argued that the recent increase in positive tests is due solely to increased testing. On Wednesday, Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, disputed those claims. “It’s not just a function of testing,” Giroir said in an NBC interview, adding, “Yes, we’re getting more cases identified, but the cases are actually going up. And we know that, too, because hospitalizations are going up.”
Tangent:
In early October, Dr. Fauci stressed that it is “absolutely essential” that the government is fully transparent with its citizens regarding the pandemic’s severity. “If you’re going to make scientific-based public health recommendations, everything has got to be transparent,” Fauci stated. Last week, Trump attacked Fauci, calling him “a disaster,” and alleged that Americans are “tired of hearing Fauci and these idiots.”
Big Number:
8.8 million. As of Wednesday morning, that’s how many people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 226,600 have died, according to a New York Times database.
Further Reading:
White House Lists' Ending' Covid-19 Pandemic As Trump Accomplishment (Forbes)
Vaccine is imminent, but virus fight has long way to go: Fauci (The Sydney Morning Herald)