RELATED: 70 Percent of Hospitalized Omicron Patients Have This in Common. A true end to the COVID pandemic might no longer be in the cards, at least in the traditional sense. During a Dec. 21 interview with CBS Mornings, Fauci discussed the future of the pandemic amid the fast-spreading Omicron variant. According to the infectious disease expert, people in the U.S. will “likely” have to learn to live with the coronavirus, much like they already do with the common cold and flu. But Fauci said this doesn’t mean that the pandemic will continue to be as much of a problem as it is now. Eventually, the U.S. will reach a point where the level of infection is low and the virus won’t dominate everyday life. “We hope we get there soon,” he said. Despite warranted concerns, Omicron’s ability to produce breakthrough cases and reinfections might be beneficial to the overall end of the pandemic, according to Fauci. The infectious disease expert said he hopes that there will be enough people either vaccinated or recovered from contracting COVID to have a “degree of immunity in the community” after this Omicron wave. That could potentially result in some type of population immunity that will help push COVID more from pandemic to endemic, where the virus is manageable and circulating at low levels. “That’s entirely conceivable and likely, as a matter of fact,” Fauci said on CBS Mornings. “We are not going to be in a situation of this degree of intensity indefinitely.” RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Unvaccinated people can’t just wait out the virus, however. Fauci said that it’s “critical” for those not yet vaccinated in the U.S. to get their shots in order to help curb the spread of the virus. Only a little more than 61 percent of the eligible U.S. population is fully vaccinated as of Dec. 22, according to the latest data from the CDC. But in order to get to a level where COVID is no longer dominating the country, Fauci said that this number must go up. “We first have to get to the 50 million or so people who are eligible to be vaccinated who are not vaccinated,” he explained. “If you want to keep the level of spread as low as possible, which will get us back to that level of normality, you have to get those people vaccinated.” Omicron has created a rise of breakthrough cases, which can be attributed to its “really spectacular capability of spreading from person to person,” Fauci said. With more breakthrough cases, some people might be questioning the need to get vaccinated. But these infections should not discourage people in the U.S. from getting their first shots or a booster dose, according to Fauci.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “They shouldn’t throw up their hands and say, ‘Well, if you can get infected even if you’re vaccinated, why get vaccinated?’” he said. “There is a very big difference between a vaccinated and unvaccinated person when they get infected with regard to the consequences of that infection.” According to Fauci, both vaccinated and boosted people are significantly less likely to experience severe illness, even if they get infected with the Omicron variant. “The likelihood of a vaccinated and boosted person of getting seriously ill from the infection is very, very low. It’s the unvaccinated people who are the most vulnerable not only to getting infected, but to getting a serious outcome,” he explained. RELATED: Dr. Fauci Warns Vaccinated People Not to Do This as Omicron Spreads.
