(AP) — The nation’s top infectious disease expert says that the U.S. may see a “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus over the coming weeks, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He appeared Sunday on ABC’s “This Week" and NBC's “Meet the Press."
He says it's “not too late” for people traveling back home after the Thanksgiving holiday to help stop the spread of the virus by wearing masks, staying distant from other people and avoiding large groups.
“So clearly in the next few weeks, we’re going to have the same sort of thing. And perhaps even two or three weeks down the line ... we may see a surge upon a surge," Fauci said Sunday morning. “So we know we can do something about it, particularly now as we get into the colder season and as we approach the Christmas holidays."
With this, Fauci said the U.S. will soon see COVID-19 vaccines distributed, starting with those considered priority individuals.
“We likely, almost certainly, are going to be vaccinating a portion of the individuals in the first priority before the end of December, and then as we get into January and February and March, more and more,” he said. “So if we can hang together as a country and do these kinds of things to blunt these surges until we get a substantial proportion of the population vaccinated, we can get through this.”