dr Anthony Fauci has made his latest about-face by insisting the US has not exited the pandemic phase of the COVID outbreak – just hours after saying so.
The COVID White House czar claimed his comments Tuesday night – which were recorded and reproduced verbatim – were “misconstrued” in a subsequent interview on Wednesday.
“We certainly cannot say that the pandemic is over. It’s not over yet,” Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, told CBS News on Wednesday afternoon.
Fauci – famous for his flip-flops on issues like masks – did not further comment on how his previous remarks had been misconstrued – although they appear to directly contradict his “correction”.
Instead, he clarified that the COVID threat in the US is not as “acute and accelerating” as it was earlier in the pandemic and the nation has entered a new “slowed and controlled” phase of the pandemic in recent months.
“It doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods,” he said, adding that the number of COVID-positive cases is “starting to creep up” again.
The remarks, which Fauci flip-flop saw, were broadcast Tuesday night by PBS NewsHour.
“We’re certainly just out of the pandemic phase in this country,” he said.
“Because we don’t have 900,000 new infections a day and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We’re at a low level right now.’
dr Anthony Fauci (pictured Tuesday) has once again reversed his pandemic lead and now claims the US is unable to return to a pre-virus state of normality
Facui said Wednesday afternoon “we certainly cannot say that the pandemic is over in America,” although he claimed Tuesday night that was the case
Fauci on Wednesday urged Americans to stay alert, warning citizens to be vigilant and prepared for surges and new COVID variants should they emerge.
He also stressed that the US “must avoid a further surge in hospital admissions.”
Despite his warnings – a full 180 from his remarks on Tuesday – Fauci noted how improved treatments and vaccines have put the US in a much better position than other countries like China and Hong Kong, which continue to grapple with serious virus situations.
He also pointed to Paxlovid, an antiviral drug developed by Pfizer that is being used to treat COVID, and claimed he believes it will make a big difference in the fight against the virus once it is readily available.
The pill is said to keep high-risk COVID patients out of the hospital and reduce their risk of serious illness by up to 90 percent.
Vice President Kamala Harris is currently taking Paxlovid to treat her symptoms after receiving positive rapid and PCR tests. Her COVID diagnosis was announced Tuesday night.
America is currently seeing 54,840 daily COVID infections, up 45 percent from last week – but more than 90 percent down from the virus’ peak of 800,000 a day
Daily deaths have fallen 14 percent over the past week to 363 a day
The US is averaging 54,840 infections a day — just six percent of the virus’ peak of 800,000 daily cases in mid-January
Fauci said Tuesday the U.S. is “out of the pandemic phase” of COVID as cases and hospitalizations continue to fall.
The immunologist, who has consistently advocated draconian mask and vaccination measures for the past two years, said: “We are at a low level right now.”
However, he warned that the virus cannot be completely eradicated and long-term vaccination programs may need to be continued annually.
“So when you say we are out of the pandemic phase in this country, we are. What we’re hoping to do, I don’t think – and I’ve talked about it a lot – we’re not going to eradicate this virus,” Fauci said.
“If we can keep that level very low and vaccinate people intermittently – and I don’t know how often that would have to be.
“That could be every year, that could be longer to keep that level down. But at the moment we are not in the pandemic phase in this country.
“Pandemic means a global infection that spreads rapidly among people. So if you look at the global situation, there is no doubt that this pandemic is still ongoing.
Fauci, whose comments were buried at the end of his PBS NewsHour interview (pictured), caused some confusion Tuesday by saying the “pandemic phase” was over at home but was “still ongoing around the world.”
Fauci, whose comments were buried at the end of his PBS NewsHour interview, caused some confusion by saying the “pandemic phase” was over at home but was “still ongoing around the world.”
Health experts questioned his claim, pointing out that he appeared to have botched his choice of words and should have just said, “The US is in a period of low hospital admissions.”
America is currently seeing 54,840 daily COVID infections, up 45 percent from last week – but more than 90 percent down from the virus’ peak of 800,000 a day. Daily deaths have fallen 14 percent over the past week to 363 a day.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also said Tuesday nearly 60 percent of Americans have been infected with COVID.
Officials warned that this data does not mean these Americans are immune to the virus because of their past infections.
COVID restrictions have been lifted almost everywhere in America. One of the few remaining mandates is in New York City, where residents are still required to wear masks on the subway, on public buses, and at the airport.
Masks are also compulsory on public transport in Los Angeles. Philadelphia returned its mask order for four days last week before canceling it almost immediately.
Children under the age of five in New York City’s public school system are still subject to “close social distancing” including mask-wearing, a bizarre departure from the rest of the city, where there is no mandate for indoor masks, even as medical experts and virologists largely agree that the risk of children becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid is extremely low.
While children are less likely than adults to be hospitalized or die from COVID, the CDC reported Tuesday that 475 children under the age of five have died from the disease in the United States.
There’s no vaccine for this age group yet, meaning the pandemic won’t be over until it’s available, which could be a few more months.
The federal government’s statewide mask order for public transit, commercial flights and transportation hubs was dismissed by a federal judge earlier this month.
The CDC also revised its face covering guidance in February, recommending that indoor mask requirements only apply to communities thought to be at high risk for Covid and that mask requirements at large public gatherings such as sporting events are no longer in place are strength.