Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said on Tuesday that it is “entirely conceivable and possible” that people will be able to celebrate the Fourth of July with gatherings this year if vaccinations rise and infection levels drop.
“You know, that’s — that’s entirely conceivable and possible,” Fauci said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
President Biden last week predicted that people would be able to gather in small groups by Independence Day, so long as people continue measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus until then and the pace of vaccinations continues as predicted.
“What the President was saying is that we traditionally have, at the Fourth of July, the kind of barbecue in the backyard, the kind of things that we treasure as Americans as part of our tradition,” Fauci said. “He was saying we’re going to have that if we do all the things that he mentioned.”
Biden during his prime-time address last week said he wants states to make vaccines available to all adults by May 1, although getting shots in arms will take longer.
“If we go beyond that because we have such a low level of infection, all the better for it. I don’t believe he’s ruling that out, but he’s saying this is at least what we’re going to be able to do by the Fourth of July, and I think it’s a quite reasonable projection,” Fauci added on Tuesday.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 109 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered so far. Over 38 million are considered to be fully vaccinated, accounting for about 11 percent of the U.S. population.