JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – How soon can we begin to relax our efforts against spreading coronavirus?
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that it’s “possible” Americans may still need to wear masks to protect against the coronavirus into early 2022.
“As we get into the fall and the winter, by the end of the year, I agree with (President Joe Biden) completely that we will be approaching a degree of normality,” said Fauci, who serves as Biden’s chief medical adviser. “I think it is possible that that’s the case and, again, it really depends on what you mean by normality.”
Monday morning, Dr. Oz told News4Jax he’s hopeful we return to more normal behavior by summer -- once 70% of Americans have either had the vaccine or have recovered from COVID-19 -- unless you are in a high-risk setting.
“I think we’re underselling the vaccine, and I’m not alone,” Oz told Bruce Hamilton on Monday’s The Morning Show. “In an effort to be cautious and not to overcompensate and go mosh-pit diving with 200 of their best friends after they got vaccinated, we’ve been telling people ‘stay back, don’t do anything. Don’t change your life at all.’”
Oz said new data coming out every day is showing the effectiveness of the vaccine.
“This vaccine doesn’t just reduce the chance of dying,” he said. “You don’t pass it along nearly as much.”
One study of the AstraZeneca vaccine shows transmission is down 67%, and Oz feels results will be similar with Pfizer and Moderna.
“It will change your life. You’ll be able to visit your grandparents. You’ll be able to hang with your friends if they’ve been vaccinated,” Oz said. “We just need a little bit more time to figure out exactly how much we’ll benefit. That’s the opposite of saying what people are hearing, which is, ‘nothing’s going to change, so why bother getting vaccinated?’”
One thing everyone agrees on is that mask-wearing is critical in slowing the spread of coronavirus, at least for now. President Joe Biden has challenged Americans to wear a mask for the first 100 days of his presidency.
And Oz also with health experts that say we’ll likely need a booster shot, whether this year or next year because “variants are already coming into play.”