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Anthony Fauci, MD, states speak about a second wave of the coronavirus is premature since the United States is still dealing with the first one.
The idea of a 2nd wave is based on the 1918 influenza pandemic, when lots of cases were seen in the spring, he states. The spring cases “actually disappeared” and were followed by a spike in flu cases in the fall, he informed CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, MD, on Thursday in an online discussion arranged by Emory University.
” Rather than say, ‘A second wave,’ why don’t we state, ‘Are we prepared for the challenge of the fall and the winter?'” stated Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White Home coronavirus task force.
Flu shots are a crucial procedure to assist the United States survive the winter season, he said.
He and other health care professionals have actually observed that the Southern Hemisphere has actually had a very light influenza season, probably since measures to curb the coronavirus, such as social distancing and mask-wearing, have actually limited the spread of the flu.
” If we listen to the general public health procedures, not just would we reduce the impact of COVID-19, we might get away with a really, extremely light influenza season if we integrate that with getting the influenza vaccine,” Fauci stated.
In a separate interview, he stated the arrival of the coronavirus vaccine will not stop the need for tried-and-true steps such as mask-wearing, hand-washing, and social distancing.
In a Facebook Live conversation with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Fauci said the coronavirus vaccine will not be 100%reliable and won’t be taken by the entire population. That implies the infection might still spread.
” So when a vaccine comes, we take a look at it as a crucial tool to supplement the public health procedures that we do,” he stated. “It will permit us to quicker and with less stringency get back to some degree of typical. But it is not going to get rid of the requirement to be prudent and careful with our public health measures.”
Fauci stated that immunizing 75%to 80%of the population “would be a really excellent accomplishment.” He expects 700 million dosages to be produced by the end of this year or early 2021.
Sources
CNN. “US still in very first Covid-19 wave and should be prepared for ‘challenge’ of fall and winter, Fauci states”
Facebook. “Live With Dr. Anthony Fauci,” Sept. 24, 2020.
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