U.S. could control Covid by spring 2022 if more people get shots: Dr Fauci

Washington:  The United States could get COVID-19 under control by early next year if vaccinations ramp up, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday, one day after Pfizer won full FDA approval for its vaccine, with more potential approvals coming in the weeks ahead, reports Reuters.

Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said in multiple TV interviews and a White House press conference that full FDA approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine paves the way for more people to get inoculated, with potential approval for Moderna’s vaccine in the coming weeks and authorization for younger children by autumn.

“I would like to appeal to the people in the country who are not vaccinated to realize that we have the capability, among ourselves, to essentially cut down the time frame to getting to the end of this pandemic,” Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a press conference.

“I think there’s a reasonable chance” that Pfizer or Moderna could get FDA clearance for children under 12 before the upcoming holiday season, he told NBC News.

U.S. officials also urged private employers and more state and local governments to require staff to get vaccinated to drive up vaccination rates.

Meanwhile, the White House is preparing to provide third “booster” doses starting in mid-September to Americans who received their COVID-19 inoculation more than eight months ago.

Image courtesy of (Photo courtesy PBS)

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