Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is urging the public to “not abandon” public health measures “in anticipation of a vaccine.”
“When you’re talking about public health measures, there are many, many things that we can do,” Fauci said at a briefing Thursday hosted by the Alliance of Public Health. “But you can distill them down to five or six that everyone should be doing: masks, physical distancing, avoiding crowds, outdoor better than indoor, washing your hands with soap and water or with an alcohol-based type of sanitizer.”
Fauci said we could see different scenarios as we get into flu season this fall, including a situation where the seasonal flu is crowded out by COVID-19 infections.
But he said he hopes to see more people getting the flu shot this year. Approximately 170 million people did last year.
That combined with COVID-19 public health measures could result in a “blunted” season for both, he said.
“That’s a goal that we should aspire to that I think is possible,” Fauci said.
