Disease expert warns second wave of virus may worsen in US after holidays

*Top US Government scientist and infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says he shares the concern of President-elect (Joe) Biden that as America gets into the next few weeks, COVID-19 cases might actually get worse

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Fearing that cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may worsen after holiday season, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top United States (US) Government scientist and Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned that the worst of the pandemic may be yet to come, driving the country to a “critical point” as holiday travel spreads the virus in the country.

The infectious disease specialist told CNN Sunday, December 27, 2020, that “I share the concern of President-elect (Joe) Biden that as we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse.”

Biden last Wednesday was reported to have cautioned that the nation’s “darkest days are ahead of us —not behind us.”

However, Fauci, who has been encouraging everyone eligible to be vaccinated, disclosed that he felt fine after receiving a first shot and experienced “nothing serious at all.”

Surgeon General Jerome Adams added on ABC that, like Fauci, he’s “very concerned” about a post-holiday surge in the US.

Report indicates that US holiday travel this year was down substantially on the festive season, but remained significant.

Air travel averaged more than one million passengers a day for six consecutive days last week, according to the Transportation Security Agency.

Following last month’s Thanksgiving holiday, US Coronavirus cases surged sharply in December, with more than 200,000 new cases and at times more than 3,000 deaths daily, report stated.

With Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in many hospitals near capacity, Fauci reiterated that the country might be facing a “surge upon a surge.”

But with new vaccines now moving across the country — going first to frontline health workers and those in long-term care facilities — Americans have finally seen a glimmer of hope.

Nonetheless, initial vaccine shipments were said to have fallen short of promises by the US Federal Government.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was among those publicly critical of the process, but she pointed to signs of improvement Sunday in a chat with CNN.

Whitmer said after Trump administration officials apologised for vaccine delivery shortfalls that “it’s moving in the right direction.

“We are making great progress, but we need the federal government to do their part.”

About two million Americans have been vaccinated so far, well below the 20 million the Trump administration has promised by year-end.

But Fauci played down the shortfall as a normal hiccup in a massively ambitious project.

He said: “Whenever you roll out a large programme … like this, in the beginning it always starts slow and then starts to gain momentum.”

Yet, the expert maintained that he was “pretty confident” that by April 2021, all higher-priority people will have been able to get vaccinated, clearing the way for the general population.