Dr. Anthony Fauci floated the possibility Sunday that mask-wearing may become a “seasonal” practice in the U.S., even long after the coronavirus pandemic has ended.
President Joe Biden’s administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been slow to update masking guidelines in the wake of mass vaccinations. Biden and his top officials still often wear masks to outdoor events where everyone is vaccinated, despite recently-updated CDC guidance saying it is not necessary.
Fauci argued that mask-wearing due to COVID-19 had a positive impact on the 2020 flu season. (RELATED: Fauci Says We’re In The Bottom Of The 6th Inning In The Fight Against Coronavirus)
“We’ve had practically a non-existent flu season this year merely because people were doing the kinds of public health things that were directed predominantly against COVID-19,” Fauci told NBC News on Sunday.
“So it is conceivable that as we go on, a year or two or more from now, that during certain seasonal periods when you have respiratory-borne viruses like the flu, people might actually elect to wear masks to diminish the likelihood that you’ll spread these respiratory-borne diseases,” he added.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID and Chief Medical Advisor to the President, testifies at a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on April 15, 2021 on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Amr Alfiky-Pool/Getty Images)
Dr. Fauci tells Wolf Blitzer that we are at the “bottom of the 6th inning” in the fight against coronavirus pic.twitter.com/rWkyHZZqkH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 4, 2021
Fauci has said that the U.S. won’t be past the pandemic until it achieves herd immunity. He and other experts have predicted that 75-80% of the population must be vaccinated to reach that goal. He said in March that the U.S. could “hopefully” reach that percentile in late summer or early fall.
Fauci had previously predicted that the U.S. could reach herd immunity by spring 2021.
