‘Some semblance of normality’ may not come before 2022, Fauci says

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, listens during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing on the federal government response to COVID-19 in September.(Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Oct 29, 2020 / 09:57 AM PDT

Updated: Oct 29, 2020 / 09:57 AM PDT

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It may be 2022 before a coronavirus-weary world begins to feel a greater sense of normality, says the nation’s top infections disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

If the U.S. can get a substantial proportion of residents vaccinated by around mid-2021, “I think it will be easily by the end of 2021 — and perhaps even into the next year — before we start having some semblance of normality,” Fauci said in candid comments during an online discussion hosted by an Australian university this week.

As a result, it may not be possible to achieve some longed-for hallmarks of normalcy without risking a super-spreading event, one in which a large number of people are infected, Fauci told the University of Melbourne.

Restaurants might not be able to return to full capacity, and professional sports venues may not be able to allow spectators, until late 2021 or early 2022, he said.

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