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Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | 
Coronavirus

Could we return to normal by summer?

Summer 2021 might bring a return to normal

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE Could we return to normal by summer?
The Pavilion Parking Garage is scheduled to be painted in early summer 2021 as part of a plan to beautify parts of downtown in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN over the weekend that the United States could return to something that looks like normal in a few weeks.

The Pavilion Parking Garage is scheduled to be painted in early summer 2021 as part of a plan to beautify parts of downtown in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Thursday, May 6, 2021. Summer 2021 might bring a return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, an expert suggests.

Chase Karacosta/The Sun News via AP

When will we return to normal? One expert suggests summer 2021 might be a good place to start.

Returning to normal

Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN over the weekend that the United States could return to something that looks like normal in a few weeks.

  • “This summer is going to seem so much closer to normal than we’ve had in a very long time,” he told CNN. “The key statistic to think about is ... what percentage of the adult population has received at least one vaccination.”

Currently, 58% of those eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine have received at least one dose, with 43% being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is specifically for people who are 18 years old and older. Right now, COVID-19 vaccines are approved for those 16 years and up.

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When is the turning point?

Reiner said the country will reach a turning point in May when 60% of people get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • “I expect during the month of May we will see daily cases drop dramatically and deaths finally drop to quite low numbers,” Reiner told CNN.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser on the novel coronavirus, said at the end of April that the U.S. was going to reach a turning point “within a few weeks.”

  • “Literally within a few weeks, we’re going to start to see a turning around of the dynamics,” Fauci said, according to CNBC.
  • “Not down to no infections,” he said, according to CNBC. “If you’re waiting for classic measles-like herd immunity, that’s going to be a while before we get there. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to have a significant diminution in the number of infections per day and a significant diminution in all of the parameters, namely hospitalizations and deaths.”