Dr. Anthony Fauci announced this week that the United States is likely out of the “pandemic phase” of COVID-19.
The senior health official was speaking with PBC News when he made the declaration after two-years of lockdowns, regulations, and a worldwide vaccination effort.
“We are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase,” said Fauci.
“We don’t have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now,” Fauci added. “So, if you’re saying, are we out of the pandemic phase in this country, we are.”
“That might be every year, that might be longer, in order to keep that level low. But, right now, we are not in the pandemic phase in this country,” he explained.
Fauci’s comments come hours after Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed she contracted the disease.
“Today I tested positive for COVID-19. I have no symptoms, and I will continue to isolate and follow CDC guidelines. I’m grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted,” Harris tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
Today I tested positive for COVID-19. I have no symptoms, and I will continue to isolate and follow CDC guidelines. I’m grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 26, 2022
To date, more than 81 million people in the United States have been infected with COVID-19 resulting in at least 990,000 deaths.
Read the full report here.