The US could have a decrease in cases and deaths, according to expert

Covid-19 victims, still in refrigerated trucks 0:40

(CNN) -

Although the rate of vaccination against covid-19 may be slowing in the US, experts are optimistic about the situation in the country in a matter of weeks.

"This summer will be much closer to normal than we've been through in a long time," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN on Sunday.

"The key statistic to think about is ... what percentage of the adult population has received at least one vaccine."

About 58% of adults in the United States, and nearly 46% of the country's total population, have received at least one dose of the covid-19 vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diseases (CDC).

More than 34% of the US population is fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

Once the country surpasses that mark of 60% of US adults with at least one dose, Reiner says that a drop in the numbers of covid-19 is likely to begin.

"I hope that during the month of May we will register a drastic decrease in daily cases and that deaths will finally be reduced to quite low figures," he says.

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Other experts have also predicted that life will begin to become more normal even if the United States has not yet achieved "group immunity," that is, when a sufficient number of people are immune to the virus, either through vaccination or infection. previous, to suppress its spread.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has calculated that between 70% and 85% of people must be immune for the country to achieve a "total blanket of protection," he told CNN late last month.

How difficult is it to achieve herd immunity?

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"However, even before it gets there, as more and more people get vaccinated, it will reach a point ... where a drastic drop in the number of cases will begin to be recorded," Fauci said at the time.

"We are on the other side"

This figure is lower than that of January, when the United States reached a seven-day average of more than 251,000 daily cases of covid-19 and a seven-day average of more than 3,400 daily deaths from covid-19.

"I would say that we are already on the other side," the coordinator of the response to covid-19 of the White House, Jeffrey Zients, told CNN on Sunday, but stressed that it is important that Americans continue to be vaccinated.

Last week, President Joe Biden set a new goal of giving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70% of American adults by July 4, but experts say getting more vaccines will be now. an uphill battle, as officials try to reach audiences that are not as eager for a vaccine or may continue to have trouble accessing one.

“We have a way ahead, which will be to make sure that people have easier access to the vaccine, making sure that people have confidence, those who have doubts about vaccines, that we answer their questions.

And make sure we do it… fairly and equitably, ”Zients said Sunday.

Recently, the city of Los Angeles unveiled new efforts to make covid-19 vaccines more accessible, announcing that it will offer walk-in vaccines at all its centers starting Monday and will also open two other night-time vaccination clinics.

"We are at a critical juncture in our fight to end this pandemic, and our city will continue to do everything possible to break down barriers to access to vaccines," Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement.

The greater the number of people vaccinated, the less chance of a covid wave

Some experts are concerned about what could happen if the country does not vaccinate enough people.

"What really worries me is that people who are already undecided will not get vaccinated (and) we will not achieve group immunity when fall comes," Dr. Leana Wen, a medical analyst and physician at CNN, told CNN earlier this month. emergencies.

"And then with winter ... we have a great resurgence, maybe we have variants that come from other countries, and we could start this whole process all over again and have another big pandemic come winter."

But the United States is unlikely to see a COVID-19 spike comparable to this past fall and winter if enough people are vaccinated, Fauci said in an interview with NBC News's "Meet the Press." .

• One dose of the covid-19 vaccine is not enough, but many people are avoiding the second dose

"There may be rallies, but if we manage them well, the kind of spike we saw in late fall and early winter is unlikely," Fauci said.

The more Americans that get vaccinated, the less likely it is that once fall and winter rolls around, there will be another significant increase, he added.

"That is why vaccines are so important," Fauci said.

Time to rethink the obligation to wear masks indoors, authorities say

For now, the risk of covid-19 has been reduced substantially with the help of vaccines, and it is time for some parts of the country to start lifting indoor mask requirements, said former Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"The covid is not going away, we are going to have to learn to live with it," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation" program on Sunday.

“I think we are at a time when we can begin to lift these decrees (…) and people have to take precautions based on their individual risk (…) and decide whether to avoid crowds or wear masks based on their circumstances".

• Fauci says it may be time to relax the obligation to wear masks indoors

Nor should the authorities continue to put limits on outdoor gatherings, he added.

Instead, they should encourage people to spend more time outdoors.

"The public has to trust that public health officials are going to lift these restrictions as quickly as they did when conditions improve," he added.

Fauci also told ABC News that it might be time to rethink indoor mask obligations.

"We have to start being more liberal as more people get vaccinated," Fauci said Sunday.

But he added that the country still has a long way to go to reduce COVID-19 cases.

"When that decreases, the risk of any infection, inside or outside, will drastically decrease."

- CNN's Naomi Thomas, Lauren Mascarenhas, Deidre McPhillips and Keith Allen contributed to this report.

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