Dr. Fauci and the WHO Director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, are sounding the alarm as COVID cases rose by nearly 11% last week.
And Fauci warned that Americans may need booster shots after about a year to maintain immunity since the vaccines are so new they’ve only been tested for six months at this stage.
Asked by MSNBC about the data from Pfizer which proved its vaccine was effective for six months, Dr. Fauci explained:
‘We need to be careful about that six month number,’ said Fauci, adding that this time period was the farthest out that scientists were able to measure.
‘We know for sure it’s effective for six months and highly likely that it will be effective for considerably longer period of time.’
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization Director said that transmission of the virus is being driven by ‘confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures.’
He added that in some countries, despite continuing spread, restaurants and nightclubs were full and markets were open and crowded with few people taking precautions.
‘Some people appear to be taking the approach that if they’re relatively young, it doesn’t matter if they get COVID-19,’ Tedros said.
The takeaway? Still keeping wearing your masks, practice social distancing and keep travel to a minimum until we reach herd immunity.
