Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that while we are seeing breakthrough cases of coronavirus among people who are vaccinated and who have gotten their booster doses, “the likelihood of a vaccinated and boosted person of getting seriously ill from the infection is very, very low.”
“When you’re dealing with a virus, a variant like Omicron, which has really a spectacular capability of spreading from person to person, we will be seeing breakthrough infections of vaccinated people, as well as people are vaccinated and boosted, that is going to happen,” he said today on “CBS Mornings.”
He continued: “The issue is that people need to understand that even with that 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.”
When asked if it’s possible we begin to live with Covid-19 long term, like the flu or common cold, Fauci said, “That’s entirely conceivable and likely, as a matter of fact.”
“We are not going to be in a situation of this degree of intensity indefinitely, for sure,” he added. “And what we’re hoping that when we get through this Omicron wave that we will have enough people vaccinated and or having been infected and recovered well, that there will be a degree of immunity in the community, such that you don’t have a situation where it’s dominating your life, with a level of infection and control is very low. We hope we get there soon.”