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The variant strain "Omicron with its astonishing, unprecedented effectiveness to transmit will eventually find almost all of us," Fauci noted, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
"There is no way to eradicate" this virus, Fauci stressed, given its infectiousness, its tendency to mutate into new strains and the large number of unvaccinated against covid-19.
But "as Omicron goes up and down," the U.S. will eventually enter a new phase "in which there will be enough protection in the community, enough drugs available that when someone becomes infected and is in a high-risk group, it will be easy to get treatment," the epidemiologist explained.
"When we get there, that will be the transition and we may be on the verge of it now," Fauci noted. However, the epidemiologist stressed that given that the US is currently recording nearly a million infections a day, 150,000 people are being hospitalized with covid-19 and more than 1,200 are dying due to the disease every day, "we are not at that point."
There are currently nearly 146,000 people hospitalized with covid-19 in the US, a record number since the beginning of the pandemic. Of those, nearly 24,000 are in intensive care units, according to figures released yesterday (Tuesday) by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The previous record was just over 142,000 patients and was set on January 14, 2021.
"We are not at a point where we can acceptably say 'we are living with'" the virus, mainly because of the pressure currently on the health care system, Fauci explained. "But I think we will get there," he added.
Although the epidemic cannot be completely eradicated, "we cannot allow the virus to dominate our lives for much longer," the epidemiologist assessed, calling for "a new strategy."
The US has seen a sharp rise in cases in recent weeks due to Omicron, which has dominated the country. Since late December, record numbers of new cases of covid-19 have been recorded in the US, with an average of about 18,500 covid patients being hospitalised every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Source: Cyprus Times
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