Fauci: “We are not where we need to be if we are going to quote ‘live with the virus’”

“We still must be aware of how unusual this virus is and continues to be in its ability to evolve into new variants which defy the standard public health mechanisms of addressing an outbreak,” Fauci said Monday, adding that the intensity of the outbreak currently is “unacceptably high.” As of Monday, nearly 400 people were dying every day from Covid, according to the CDC.

Fauci attributed the persistence of the virus in part to the “lack of a uniform acceptance of the interventions that are available to us in this country.”

“Even now, more than two years, close to three years into the outbreak, we have only 67 percent of our population vaccinated and only one half of those have received a single boost,” Fauci said.

Fauci acknowledged that the pandemic is “heading in the right direction,” but warned that it is “likely that we will see another variant emerge” going into late fall and early winter.