Pouch Director: "If Most People Get Vaccinated, COVID-19 Will Be Controlled by Next Fall"

▲ Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a leading infectious disease expert in the United States, stated that if most people get vaccinated, COVID-19 could be controlled by next fall.

In an interview with NPR on the 23rd (local time), Director Fauci made these remarks.

When asked about where the U.S. currently stands in the trajectory of the pandemic and whether COVID-19 will resurge again as the weather gets colder, Fauci said, "Honestly, it entirely depends on how efficiently we can get people vaccinated."

He explained that it is difficult to predict the course of the pandemic when many people remain unvaccinated despite being eligible for vaccination, as is the case now.

In such a scenario, Fauci said, "There is a possibility that the coronavirus will continue to circulate and mutate," adding, "In other words, more variants could emerge, and we might return to a situation similar to or worse than the Delta variant."

On the other hand, Fauci said that if the majority of the population gets vaccinated following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine announced that day, the U.S. could regain control over the coronavirus.

He said, "As we approach fall 2022, we might begin to control the coronavirus well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.