Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned Sunday that the country’s battle with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is still “not in the end zone,” urging Americans to follow public health measures.
He also pointed to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Europe as a warning sign against lifting restrictions right now in the United States.
Dr. Fauci, who is the White House Chief Medical Advisor, said, “When I hear pulling back completely on public health measures, saying no more masks, no nothing like that, that is risky business.”
“Don’t spike the ball on the five-yard line,” he added. “Wait until you get into the end zone. We are not in the end zone yet.” He explained that prematurely pulling away restrictions could prolong the COVID pandemic.
Dr. Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) told Fox News that the recent surge in new cases throughout Europe was due in part to a relaxation of safety measures.
He said, “When you see that leveling off at a high level, there is always a risk of a surge back up and in fact, unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening in Europe right now.”
“They [Europeans] thought they were home free and they weren’t and now they are seeing an increase,” he added. “If you wait just a bit longer to give the vaccine program a chance to increase the protection in the community, then it makes pulling back much less risky.”
Europe has been stumbling to administer coronavirus vaccines, while some nations have reported a third wave of the highly contagious disease.
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CBS Sunday, “Eastern Europe looks very bad right now, Italy looks bad, but I think that the U.S. is in a much different situation. I think we are in a different situation than Europe because of the vaccine-induced immunity that we are getting into the population.”
The United States has administered more than 100 million vaccines as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 27% percent of adults have received at least one shot so far.
Last week, President Joe Biden urged people to remain vigilant against the highly infectious disease by following public health measures. He also set a goal for people to be able to gather in small groups to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Dr. Gottlieb told CBS, “I think as we get into April the situation around the country is going to look better but there will be pockets of outbreaks and there will be pockets where some of these variants become more prevalent.”
“I think overall the trajectory for the nation continues to look good,” he added. The article was published Sunday on CNBC.
