Earlier this week, Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser for President Joe Biden, predicted that, while it looks like we’re mostly over the pandemic, there will still be a rise in cases in the following weeks as well as a potential surge this fall.
While talking to David Westin for Bloomberg TV, Fauci stated that “I think that we should expect that over the following couple of weeks, we’re going to see an uptick in COVID cases – and hopefully there’s enough background immunity so that we do not wind up with a lot of hospitalizations.”
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director also said that the increase in COVID-19 cases may come as a result of the loosening of restrictions as well as the waning of natural or vaccine-made immunity in people.
“Those conditions are present in the States as well. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an uptick. Whether that becomes a surge where there are a lot more COVID cases is difficult to predict.”
When asked if the potential surge this fall will be similar to the ones in the last two years, he responded that it is “likely” to be the case, adding that “these are uncharted waters for us all with this virus.”
“I would think we should expect that we’re going to see some increase in cases as we get to the colder weather in the fall. That’s the reason why the FDA and their advisory committee are meeting right now to plan a strategy, and we at the National Institutes of Health are doing studies now to determine what the best boost would be.”
Anthony Fauci’s statement comes just as the BA.2 Omicron subvariant has been increasing in transmissibility when compared to the initial strain, becoming the dominant variant in the United States.
Furthermore, according to The New York Times COVID-19 tracker, Washington, D.C. and New York City have been experiencing a quick rise in cases in the last couple of weeks.
That being said, however, compared to the previous spike in January, the numbers are still relatively low.
