Coronavirus in the US enters endemic phase, says Fauci

The United States has already left the pandemic phase of the coronavirus in terms of infections, hospitalizations and deaths and seems to be entering a phase where the disease is endemic, that is, it periodically arises in certain regions, declared the top expert in contagious diseases of the country.

Speaking Tuesday on the channel’s “NewsHour” program PBSHowever, Dr. Anthony Fauci emphasized that the threat is not over and that he was referring only to the worst phase of the pandemic.

“What I want to say is that we are not having 900,000 new infections every day and thousands of hospitalizations and deaths. We are currently at low levels,” Fauci said.

Later, in statements to the Washington Post, Fauci tried to clarify his previous comments, emphasizing that unlike “the explosive and total phase of the pandemic” caused by the contagious omicron variant, he was referring to what appears to be a transition period towards a endemic stage.

“The world is still in a pandemic, there is no doubt about that. Let no one misunderstand that. We continue to experience a pandemic,” Fauci told the Post.

The comments come as authorities debate how to keep cases and hospitalizations down and how to learn to live with a virus that remains unpredictable and capable of mutating.

The US government insists that the country today has many more tools than ever before to deal with the disease, such as vaccines, boosters and medications.

The average number of daily cases in the United States is much lower than it was in recent months. Even so, health authorities remain vigilant to the virus because new variants continue to emerge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that cases increased 25% in the last week.

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