There will likely be an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the next few weeks, but a true coronavirus surge will happen this fall, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The news: Bloomberg TV’s David Westin asked Fauci about the potential for a new coronavirus outbreak in the United States from the BA.2 variant.
- Fauci said the United States often lags behind the United Kingdom, which has seen a recent surge in cases.
- The BA.2 variant — a subvariant of the omicron variant — and opening up by loosening restrictions will contribute to an uptick in cases, Fauci said, per CNN.
What Fauci said: “I think we should expect, David, that over the next couple of weeks, we are going to see an uptick in cases — and hopefully there is enough background immunity so that we don’t wind up with a lot of hospitalizations,” he said.
Yes, but: Fauci told Bloomberg TV that “it is likely that we will see a surge in the fall.”
- “I would think that we should expect that we are going to see some increase in cases as you get to the colder weather in the fall,” he said.
- “That’s the reason why the (Food and Drug Administration) 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.”
Flashback: At the end of March, Fauci, the White House medical adviser on the coronavirus, said on ABC’s “This Week” program that he didn’t think there would be a surge from the BA.2 variant, per The Hill.
- “I don’t think we will,” he added. “The easiest way to prevent that is to continue to get people vaccinated. And for those who have been vaccinated, to continue to get them boosted, so that’s really where we stand right now.”
- Fauci also told KGTV he expects “we might see an uptick in cases here in the United States because, only a week or so ago, the CDC came out with their modification of the metrics for what would be recommended for masking indoors, and much of the country right now is in that zone, where masking indoors is not required.”