The United States will not likely return to normal until "well into 2021, maybe even towards the end of 2021," Dr. Anthony Fauci, top U.S. infectious disease expert and White House coronavirus advisor, stated on Friday in an interview with "Andrea Mitchell Reports," on MSNBC.
Fauci stated that while he cautiously predicts that a vaccine will be available for public use by the end of the year, "by the time you mobilize the distribution of the vaccinations, and you get the majority or more of the population vaccinated and protected, thats likely not going to happen till the mid- or end of 2021."
In the meantime, the population will need to take the pandemic into account with all public activity, for the outbreak in the U.S. is still ongoing. Fauci had raised concerns moving forward as the Labor Day holiday could spike new case numbers again like Memorial Day and Independence Day had done prior. The U.S. is averaging around new 40,000 cases per and has a daily death rate of about 1,000 as the nation head towards its colder months--something Fauci has cautioned the public about.
"What we don't want to see is going into the fall season when people will be spending more time indoors--and that's not good for a respiratory borne virus--you don't want to start odd already with a baseline that's so high," Fauci added.
The coronavirus outbreak's landscape has transitioned away from the earlier hot spots of nursing homes and meatpacking facilities, with college campuses surging with infections. Colleges and universities have begun to blame student groups for hosting secret parties that have threatened the health of surrounding communities. At many campuses, students are not attending in-person classes, rather learning virtually while sharing local apartments.
Younger populations are more prone to having asymptotic infection, which makes containment of the virus all the more challenging. Nevertheless, infected students now risk bringing the virus back to their hometowns if forced to return due to future potential shutdowns.
Currently, the worst college outbreaks include James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia; Washington State University in Whitman County, Washington; and Central Texas College in Coryell County, Texas, according to a USA Today report.