Infections are “starting to come down rather sharply” in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, Fauci said, in line with the variant’s trajectory in South Africa and other places. Fauci said that he expects states in the West and South, where there are still increasing cases of the disease to follow the same downward trajectory depending on their vaccination rates.
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“I believe that you will start to see a turnaround throughout the entire country,” he said. “There may be a bit more pain and suffering with hospitalizations in those areas of the country that have not been fully vaccinated or have not gotten boosters.”
More: Omicron is Near the U.S. Even though some regions still face struggle, peak
Fauci outlined two long-term scenarios of Covid-19 for the third year of the pandemic.
The first is that Covid-19 becomes “less virulent” and can be controlled.
“You’re not eradicating it but it gets down to such a low level, that it’s essentially integrated into the general respiratory infections that we have learned to live with,” he said.
He stated that the most likely scenario involves the development of another, more deadly variant. He stated that this is a reason to be vaccinated with booster shots as well as to increase access to testing and treatment.
