Washington, Feb 10 The "full blown" pandemic phase of Covid-19 is almost over in the US, according to top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci said that a combination of vaccinations, treatments and prior infection would soon make the virus more manageable in the country, Financial Times reported.
As a result, he noted that he soon hopes to see an end to all pandemic-related restrictions in the coming months, including mandatory wearing of masks.
However, he warned local health departments could reintroduce measures temporarily, if outbreaks are detected in the community.
The top Advisor to the US President also outlined a scenario where local health departments would lead the response to the virus rather than the Joe Biden administration, the report said.
"As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of Covid-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated," Fauci was quoted as saying.
"There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus," he added.
This is Fauci's most optimistic comments about the trajectory of the pandemic since the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the report said.
While his comments does not mean that the virus is now becoming "endemic" as claimed by some world leaders, he talked about the possibility it will soon reach an "equilibrium" where the government no longer has to pay such close attention to infection levels.
"There is no way we are going to eradicate this virus," he said. "But I hope we are looking at a time when we have enough people vaccinated and enough people with protection from previous infection that the Covid restrictions will soon be a thing of the past."
Fauci said his agency is planning for the next pandemic, focusing on monitoring viruses and families of viruses that are known to create severe illness. Dealing with future outbreaks would require a mix of vaccines and therapeutics, he added.
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