Dr. Fauci Now Eying 2022 for a Return to ‘Normal’ After COVID

Despite our most dire wishes to the contrary, one of the nation’s most notable epidemiologists is saying that 2020’s end won’t usher in a magical cure for the coronavirus.

Americans have been dealing with COVID-19 for the better part of 7 months at this point, beginning with what we hoped and believed would be an intense two week lockdown back around Saint Patrick’s Day that we were told would nip the whole thing in the bud.

Spoiler alert:  We’re still suffering greatly as we approach Halloween, and cases are spiking just in time to bring a really glum mood to the heart of the holiday season.

And, unfortunately, a lot of us have already inadvertently assigned COVID to 2020, hoping in vain that the ball-dropping in Times Square at the end of December will save us.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has some bad news on that front.

If the U.S. can get a substantial proportion of residents vaccinated by around mid-2021, “I think it will be easily by the end of 2021 — and perhaps even into the next year — before we start having some semblance of normality,” Fauci said in candid comments during an online discussion hosted by an Australian university this week.

As a result, it may not be possible to achieve some longed-for hallmarks of normalcy without risking a super-spreading event, one in which a large number of people are infected, Fauci told the University of Melbourne.

Restaurants might not be able to return to full capacity, and professional sports venues may not be able to allow spectators, until late 2021 or early 2022, he said.

Fauci went on to voice his support for continued mask wearing and even a national mask mandate – something that has been a controversial topic in political circles as of late.