Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed that there were “very serious discussions” between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about allowing people who have received the full COVID-19 vaccination course to socialize together.
Fauci, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said “common sense” showed the risk was “extremely low”.
Fauci spoke as the number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped to its lowest level since Nov. 4, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
Their data on Thursday showed that hospitalizations have fallen again, as they have fallen every day since January 12, 2021.
His words gave rise to the hope that the days of forced quarantine, social distancing and wearing a mask in private spaces could soon be numbered.
“I think what you’re going to see very soon – we’ve had some very serious discussions with our colleagues at the CDC – is: what happens when you get two people vaccinated,” he told Chris Cuomo of CNN on Thursday night.
Fauci appeared on CNN on Thursday night and said that social restrictions could be lifted
“Before being vaccinated, if they wanted to come and visit you, they should be quarantined for a while, tested, wear a mask.
“What we are saying now – even if it is not supported by data, it is supported by common sense – if you have two vaccinated people and they want to get together, … the risk is not zero, the risk becomes extremely low. ‘
The United States recorded 28,410,917 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic and 508,114 deaths.
Fauci said the realization of the vaccine’s power to change regular interactions with friends and family members will likely encourage people to get vaccinated.
He said that once his daughter had both blows, like him, he would invite her to “give him a big hug” – something he hadn’t done in a year.
“So we’re going to start seeing people say, ‘Hey, with as many people getting vaccinated as possible, I can have dinner with an incoming family member, I can go see my mother if she’s vaccinated.’
Asked by Cuomo if he expects to see restaurants, airlines and employers requesting a kind of vaccination “passport”, Fauci replied: “I think you will see a gradual increase in it.”
He added: “There will be a personal, social and public health benefit.”
On Thursday, Joe Biden marked the administration of the 50 millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine since taking the oath.
“The more people who are vaccinated, the sooner we will overcome this pandemic,” Biden said, noting that his administration is on track to break its promise to provide 100 million photos in its first 100 days in office. .
Despite the unfavorable weather hampering vaccination programs in some areas, Biden said progress has been excellent.
“We’re halfway there: 50 million photos in 37 days,” Biden said.
“That’s weeks before the program.”
Overall, more than 45 million Americans have received at least one dose of vaccines approved by Pfizer and Moderna since receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration in December, with more than 20 million receiving both required doses.
Biden noted the promise of a third vaccine that will be approved immediately after this weekend, as the candidate for a single dose of Johnson & Johnson is being reviewed by the FDA.
“We have a plan to launch Johnson & Johnson as soon as possible,” Biden said.
At the national level, there are currently 52,669 hospitalized, and on Thursday, 3,138 deaths were registered through COVID-19.
This is higher than Wednesday’s death toll of 2,447.
On Thursday, while Fauci spoke, hospitalizations were at their lowest level since November 4
Fauci said that while vaccinations have certainly helped bring the pandemic under control, they have not been the only thing.
“I do not think that is the only factor. I think it’s a combination of things, ‘he said, noting that the peak in December and January was caused by unsafe behavior, such as holiday travel, which has now declined.
And he said that people are right to be concerned about mutations, but the key to stopping the mutation was to stop the spread.
A new variant, cultivated by the house in the USA and known as B.1.427 / B.1.429, which appeared in California, appeared as a variant of concern.
New studies have suggested that the infection with the variant increases the viral load by about twice the initial circulating strains of the virus, that it spreads at least as easily as other recent variants and could be up to 11 times more deadly.
The variant was first identified in May 2020 and was virtually non-existent until October.
In a recent study, expected to be posted on the medRxiv.org server later this week, the University of California, San Francisco analyzed 2,172 virus samples collected between September 2020 and January 2021 across California.
As of January, the new variant accounted for more than 50 percent of all genetically engineered coronavirus samples.
In short, it had become the most common strain in the country. It could account for 90 percent of the state’s infections by the end of March, scientists told the Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Charles Chiu, a professor of laboratory medicine and an expert in infectious diseases at UCSF, told the newspaper that the virus appears to be 19 to 24 percent more transmissible than previous strains.
The California local variant, named B.1.427 / B.1.429, currently accounts for 50% of all cases in the state and is estimated to account for 90% of all cases by the end of March (above).
Separate teams of researchers have found yet another variant of coronavirus – this one in New York.
The new variant may be able to evade current vaccines. But vaccine companies are already involved, CBS2’s Dr. Max Gomez reported Thursday.
The mutation was detected by Dr. David Ho’s team at Columbia University.
Ho said it modifies the growth of proteins, which allows the virus to avoid antibodies that could lead to a weaker immune response.
“We don’t know if it’s more transmissible, but we see it increasing in prevalence in our patient population,” Ho told CBS2.
Fauci said: “The best way to prevent the emergence of other variants is to stop their spread.
“Viruses do not move unless they spread.
Fauci said a vaccine would provide a level of antibodies that was a “pillow” – despite the fact that it was not specifically adapted to the mutation.
“The higher the level of protection, the better there is a spillover if you want it,” he said.
