Biden and Fauci government officials on Wednesday tried to stress that the country was still in the midst of a pandemic and that emergency measures were still needed after Fauci told PBS the exact opposite. “We are here. It is the end of April. It is the spring of 2022. How close are we to the end of the pandemic?” PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff asked Fauci on Tuesday. “We are definitely in this country right now, out of the pandemic phase,” Fauci said. “That is, 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 right now. Dr. Anthony Fauci insists the United States is now in a “controlled phase” of the pandemic. Shawn Thew / CNP / startraksphoto.com “Well, if you say we are out of the pandemic phase in this country, we are,” he added. A day later, after his comments made headlines worldwide, Fauci sang a different tune. “We are in a different moment of the pandemic,” Fauci told the Associated Press on Wednesday. The US “slowed down and entered a more controlled phase” after a winter rise, he added. “By no means does this mean that the pandemic is over,” Fauci said in his 180-degree election. Fauci criticized the decision of a Florida judge to remove the travel mask order. John Moore / Getty Images He told the Washington Post on Wednesday: “People are still in a pandemic. There is no doubt about it. Let no one misinterpret this. “ White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki asked during her daily briefing why emergency measures are still needed if the “pandemic phase” is over. “Well, what Dr. Fauci was saying is that we are in a different phase of this pandemic, and that is absolutely true,” Psaki said, adding that the level of hospitalization and deaths has dropped. Dr Anthony Fauci had previously said the country was no longer facing “900,000 new infections a day”. Mario Tama / Getty Images “We also know that COVID is not over and the pandemic is not over,” he said. “People are still suffering from COVID and” we have measures we must all continue to take to protect ourselves, “Psaki said. This is not the first time a consultant has made a statement or suggestion just to make it back hours later. Late last year, he suggested that he would need a booster vaccine to be “fully vaccinated” and then said that a few days later the extra dose would not be necessary to get to this point. Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends that domestic airline passengers be vaccinated against COVID-19. Scott Olson / Getty Images He also seemed to support the vaccine requirement on domestic flights, but went on to say that people should not wait for a federal order requiring passengers to be pierced. Fauci, 81, decided to skip the White House Correspondents’ Union dinner on Saturday due to concerns about the coronavirus. The decision, originally reported by CNN, was made despite President Biden himself planning to attend. Fauci had attended a Gridiron Club dinner on April 2, where a few guests were covered. Dozens of attendees later tested positive for the virus. Earlier this month, Fauci showed his support for individual Americans conducting their own medical risk assessments for COVID-19. “This is not going to be eliminated and it is not going to be eliminated,” he told ABC “This Week.” “And what is going to happen is that we will see that each person will have to calculate for the amount of risk they want to take.” Fauci’s hopeful rhetoric was in stark contrast to the terrible warnings he issued at the beginning of the pandemic, urging Americans to follow the instructions of social distance and disguise. However, the nation’s leading infectious disease specialist only recently criticized a Florida federal judge’s decision to repeal an extension of the Biden’s government policy that required masks on public transportation. “The CDC has the ability, through a large number of trained epidemiologists, scientists, to be able to make predictions and make recommendations,” he told CBS News. “Much more than a judge with no experience in public health.” Dr Anthony Fauci said COVID-19 cases were “not going to be eradicated” permanently. Spencer Platt / Getty Images Fauci’s comments come as the US experiences a slight rise in positive COVID-19 infections due to the BA.2 subtype of the virus. In DC, dozens of lawmakers, journalists, and administration officials were positive this month after attending various dinners and events. However, earlier this month, Fauci said the variant “does not appear to be associated with an increase in hospitalization and serious illness.” With Post cables