Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health Dr. Ashish Jha said Monday he thinks outdoor concerts and other “normal” activities will return this summer amid rising vaccination rates.
Jha said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that a major obstacle to overcome will be the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 strain “when that becomes dominant in late March.” Jha anticipates everyone will have the opportunity to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in May, however, the dean also said getting people vaccinated “will take a little time” due to officials facing “vaccine hesitancy” from segments of the public.
The dean speculated that by May and June more than 50% of Americans will be immunized, which will “dramatically slow things down.”
“So many Americans have gotten infected, probably close to 30% of Americans have gotten infected. Throw in the amount of vaccines we have, and we’ll be over 50% of Americans with immunity,” Jha said. (RELATED: Biden Administration Ramps Up Vaccine Distribution, Seeks To Have 300 Million Americans Vaccinated By End Of Summer)
“And I expect to have a pretty good summer, like people say, ‘normal.’ It depends a little bit on what you mean. Like, large, you know, kind of indoor concerts, probably not. But outdoor gatherings, pretty much close to normal. And certainly as we get into fall, things will continue to get better,” Jha said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki conjectured Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that distribution of the vaccines is going “to rapidly catch up this week.” Losses of power and winter storms resulted in 6 million vaccine doses getting held up.
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Jha said he believes Red Sox games at Fenway Park will return, but there will possibly be a bit of testing and full capacity may not be possible as compared to 2019.
“The problem is that you’re still going to probably have a third of the population that’s gonna choose not to get vaccinated. And we’re going to have to deal with that. So that’s part of the reason why completely normal isn’t, may not be possible this summer,” Jha said.
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