Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
We Will Have To Keep Masking Up Through Fall 2021, Fauci Forecasts
Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted Monday that the United States could achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 by "the end of the second quarter 2021" after vaccines are more widely deployed. Speaking to MSNBC's Hallie Jackson, Fauci 鈥 director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 鈥 said that, depending on the "efficiency of the rollout," the Covid-19 vaccines should be widely available to most Americans by spring. (Fitzsimmons, 12/14)
Anthony Fauci, head of the聽National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), warned Monday that the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine聽doesn't mean people should drop "normal, standard public health measures." In an interview with MSNBC, the White House coronavirus task force member told viewers not聽to let down their guard as it pertains to necessary preventative measures to stop the spread the coronavirus despite the vaccine becoming available for some Americans for the first time this week. (Bowden, 12/14)
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that he could get his own COVID-19 vaccination in the next few days. 鈥淚 think it could be within a week,鈥欌 the nation鈥檚 top infectious diseases doc told MSNBC. (Sheehy, 12/14)
Dr. Anthony Fauci recently spoke out about the input of Black scientists in the coronavirus vaccine process and highlighted a Baltimore college graduate鈥檚 work. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was quick to give credit to Dr. Barney Graham and his colleague, Dr. Kizzmekia 鈥淜izzy鈥 Corbett, and urged Black people, who have been disproportionately infected with and killed by the virus, to trust the vaccine. (Oxenden, 12/15)
Fauci hopes to know by the second quarter of 2021 if the nation has a veil of immunity due to the vaccine. And by the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, he hopes to find out if the vaccines will be a one-time thing, or if booster shots will be needed down the road. When it comes to scaling back health restrictions, Fauci said he believes a clearer picture of that will emerge as widespread vaccinations take place. (Murillo, 12/14)