“I mean, we do not have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level at the moment. So, if you say, are we out of the pandemic phase in this country? We are,” he said. . On Wednesday, Fauci told CNN that his comments had been misinterpreted by some as meaning the pandemic was over, “something I did not say.” “We have not overcome the pandemic. Do not let anyone misinterpret that the pandemic is over, but what we are in is a different phase of the pandemic,” he said. “A phase that is a transitional phase, which we hope is geared towards more control where you can really return to some form of normalcy without completely upsetting society, financially, socially, schooling, etc.” Fauci noted that, in fact, COVID-19 cases are rising again, although not at all close to the rise we saw this winter with the Omicron wave. “So what we need to do is keep vigilant, follow the CDC guidelines, do the kinds of things that protect you: Get vaccinated if you have not been vaccinated; get a boost if you qualify for support. “If you become infected, be aware that antiviral drugs are available.” Fauci’s comments on PBS caught the same day that the Biden administration announced that it would not attend the White House’s annual dinner after considering its personal risk. “Each of us, in our own personal way, has to make an assessment of the risk you are willing to take to become infected,” Fauci told CNN. “In general, the risk is low, but I made a personal assessment. “I am 81 years old and if I get infected, I have a much higher risk.”
CASES AND HOSPITALS INCREASE IN THE USA
COVID-19 cases in the US have dropped dramatically in the last two months as the Omicron wave subsided. However, the daily cases are still twice as high as for most of last summer. New cases are returning to most states, and hospitalizations have begun to rise last week. Fewer people die from COVID-19 now than during most of the pandemic, but with more than 400 deaths a day, the last two months of COVID-19 have been more deadly than the most recent bouts of flu. Fauci said that although the coronavirus would not be eradicated, the level of the virus in society could be kept very low if people were vaccinated at intervals, probably every year. Currently, local health workers in the US continue to work to fully vaccinate and support more people against COVID-19.
EU DESCRIBES ITS RESPONSE TO THE NEXT PHASE OF THE PANDEMIC
According to Fauci, the situation of COVID-19 in the United States also does not necessarily reflect what is happening in the rest of the world. “A pandemic means a widespread, worldwide infection that spreads rapidly among humans,” Fauci said. “So if you look at the world situation, there is no doubt that this pandemic is still going on.” The European Commission said on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic was not over and that “vigilance and preparedness remain essential” as it released a series of proposals to help European countries manage the current phase and prepare for the next. The committee called on the 27 countries of the European Union “to strengthen their surveillance, healthcare systems and overall pandemic preparedness” as well as “to strengthen vaccination and support” and “to continue targeted testing and sequencing” for accurately assess the circulation of variants and detect new variants. European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidis said on Wednesday that between 60% and 80% of the US population was estimated to have COVID-19. “How we prepare today for the next phase will determine the cause of the pandemic in the coming months and years,” he said.
LOOK FORWARD
In the US, getting rid of the pandemic is not a language heard by Lori Tremel Freeman, chief executive of the county and county National Health Service, in conversations within local health services, she said Wednesday. However, there has been a subtle change in the ground with local health officials now returning some focus to areas not related to COVID-19, such as maternal health, childhood vaccinations, tuberculosis and HIV. “I think there are subtle changes in the local health departments to normalize the response to the pandemic in a way that allows them to return to the core work of their public health departments,” Freeman said. “But these words used to end the pandemic are not circulating well in public health at the moment.”
