National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said Sunday that it is likely the coronavirus will become a seasonal occurrence.
The infectious diseases expert told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that it’s likely the virus “will assume a seasonal nature” because it is unlikely to be contained around the world this year.
“Unless we get this globally under control, there is a very good chance that it’ll assume a seasonal nature,” he said.
“We need to be prepared that since it will be unlikely to be completely eradicated from the planet that as we get into next season we may see the beginning of a resurgence,” he added.
The possibility of a resurgence is why the federal government is working “so hard” to improve its preparedness, including developing a vaccine and completing clinical trials on therapeutic interventions.
“Hopefully, if in fact we do see that resurgence, we will have interventions that we did not have in the beginning of the situation that we’re in right now,” he said.
Fauci also said on the Sunday morning show that it would be “a false statement” to say the U.S. government has the coronavirus pandemic under control.
The infectious disease expert last month warned that the U.S. needs to prepare for the coronavirus to be cyclical.
The U.S. has counted more than 321,000 cases of the coronavirus, leading to at least 9,132 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.