If there’s one thing this country probably doesn’t need is an “expert” weighing in on when things will get back to normal in the U.S. following a pandemic that is essentially starting its year two grip on the world.
Unfortunately, there are more opinions on this matter from said experts than grains of sand on Miami Beach. Another expert shared his two cents today.
Now granted, White House Covid advisor Andy Slavitt was forced to give his opinion, because his boss opened the door by making a bold prediction on a CNN town hall Wednesday.
President Joe Biden said that by Christmas, the U.S. will be “in a very different circumstance, God willing.”
He continued on that thought, saying “A year from now, I think that there’ll be significantly fewer people having to be socially distanced, having to wear a mask. I don’t want to over promise anything here.”
Once that cat was let out of the bag, Slavic jumped in and essentially confirmed and validated what Biden said when interviewed by the Washington Post. “There’s a lot we don’t know about the future. We are trying not to give a false sense of security or a false sense of precision when none exists. And I know that makes people less comfortable, but I also know people want to be leveled with and they want to be told the truth.”
The CDC, government officials, Anthony Fauci and other people trained to have informed opinions about this say the vaccinations going on now will play a key roll.
About 40 million people have received at least their first doze of COVID vaccine. 15.4 million Americans have received both shots.
Fauci’s goal is to get the numbers to the point that 70%-85% of the population has been vaccinated. That would lead to herd immunity and help defeat the pandemic.
When will it be normal again?
“The old normal? I don’t know when that day will be, but it will be in the great and distant future. COVID… isn’t going to just disappear miraculously. It won’t just fade away. This virus has plenty of human beings in our country it has yet to infect. If I had an emoji for it, it would be a sad, sad emoji.”
-Dr. William Shaffner
(what he told healthline.com)
“When there is strong scientific evidence that the vaccination has rendered 65 to 70 percent of the population, that would be the time.”
-Dr. W. David Hardy, infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
(what he told healthline.com)
“We’re not going to shut down this virus and end transmission. We have to make a decision as a society about how much of this we can and want to live with. Society lives with influenza, after all, which remains endemic despite a vaccine.”
-Nicole Lurie
Advisor to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
(what she told Science Mag)
“2021 will still be a COVID year. We can start being able to live our lives still in the realm of living our lives within COVID.”
-Dr. Scottt Miscovich
(Premier Medical Group Hawaii
(what he told KITV)
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