Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that Americans could start thinking about a return to “some form of normality” by the fall.
Fauci made a Sunday morning appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with guest host Dana Bash and he predicted that the coronavirus vaccine rollout would allow for the general population to be vaccinated over the summer. (RELATED: ‘Petty Tyrants’: Rand Paul Spares No One In Annual Festivus ‘Airing Of Grievances’)
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Fauci told Bash that while the two vaccines — one from Moderna and the other from Pfizer — were being administered based on risk first, the general population could see widespread vaccination in the summer months.
“Well, if you look at the logistics of it, Dana, right now, we are going through the priority groups,” Fauci explained, noting that the highest priorities included health care workers — who have to stay healthy in order to continue to provide care for patients — and the elderly or those who have underlying medical conditions.
“Once you get there, what I call open season, namely when anybody who is anybody, you don’t have to be a priority person, should get vaccinated. I think we are going to get there probably end of March, beginning of April,” Fauci continued, adding that the United States could reach the point where approximately 85% of the population was vaccinated by mid to late summer.
“I hope by the time we get to the fall, we will reach that critical percentage of people that we can really start thinking about and return to some form of normality,” he concluded.
Fauci had previously suggested late June as the time that people could begin going about their business without wearing face coverings, telling CNN’s Chris Cuomo that a significant portion of the population would likely be vaccinated by then. He said the same to MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson a few days later.