Despite a record number of hospitalizations, the United States could be
"on the threshold"
of a transition period, after which it will become possible to
"live with"
the virus, estimated Tuesday, January 11, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Read alsoOmicron will bring Covid-19 out of the pandemic phase, estimates the European Medicines Agency
"As Omicron goes up and down, I hope we will have a situation with (...) a combination of good basic immunity and the possibility of treating a person at risk
," said the House adviser. Blanche on the health crisis.
"When we get there, it will be this transition, and we could be on the threshold today
," said the immunologist, during a presentation organized by the research institute Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The United States has surpassed its record for the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19, with nearly 146,000 infected patients currently occupying hospital beds across the country.
Among them, nearly 24,000 were in intensive care, according to data from the US Department of Health on Tuesday.
The previous record stood at just over 142,000 people hospitalized on January 14, 2021, almost a year ago to the day.
We cannot let this virus dominate our lives much longer.
"
Anthony Fauci
“We are not at the point where we can say in an acceptable way, '
Let's live with' the virus, in part because of the current pressure on the healthcare system.
"But I think we'll get there
," Fauci said Tuesday.
He added that the Omicron variant, because of its very high contagiousness, would likely infect
"almost everyone"
, and that it was highly unlikely that Covid-19 could be completely eliminated.
But
"we can not let this virus dominate our lives much longer"
, hammered the scientist, pleading for the soon establishment of a
"new strategy"
.
Read alsoCovid-19: more than 50% of Europeans affected by Omicron within 2 months, according to the WHO
The United States is currently facing an impressive outbreak of the epidemic linked to this variant, which has become in the majority in a few weeks. The country has recorded record numbers of contaminations since the end of December. About 18,500 people with Covid-19 are admitted to hospital each day on average, again a higher, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).
However, some may be in the hospital for other reasons, and turn out to be infected when tested there.
The risk of hospitalization is much greater for unvaccinated people than for those vaccinated, repeated Tuesday Dr. Anthony Fauci during a hearing in Congress, where he also accused a Republican senator of encouraging death threats against him.
In New York City at the end of December, per 100,000 people, the number of daily hospitalizations was just over 58 among unvaccinated people, compared to just under 5 among fully vaccinated people.
