Anthony Fauci agrees with Joe Biden that 'darkest days' of COVID-19 is yet to come

America's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned on Sunday that the United States is headed for the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the upcoming weeks as Americans will see the effects of the holiday season. 

'We are really at a very critical point'

Fauci during an exclusive intercation with CNN said that the country is at a very critical point and he shares the concern of President-elect Joe Biden that as the U.S. gets into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse. Biden, who will take office in January, last week had said that "darkest days" against coronavirus "are ahead of us, not behind us."

Fauci had reportedly received the first dose of Moderna vaccine last week in Bethesda, Maryland. Fauci said he considered it an honor to be part of this process.

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“When you are dealing with a baseline of 200,000 cases per day and 2,000 deaths per day with the hospitalizations over 120,000, we are really at a very critical point,” Fauci said.

"As a symbol to the rest of the country that I feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine, and I want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so we can have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic," Fauci had said.

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The COVID-19 case total in the United States surpassed the 19 million mark on Sunday, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from various sources including local authorities and media outlets.

US holiday travel this year was lower than in previous years, but air travel averaged more than one million passengers a day for six consecutive days last week, according to the Transportation Security Agency.

Fauci predicted the general population would be getting immunized widely by late March or early April, beyond the frontline workers, older people, and certain other segments of the public given priority for the vaccines.

(With Agency Inputs)

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