Covid-19 cases are showing a slight decline in the United States, but this doesn't mean it's because vaccinations have been taking place. Instead, it's because the surge that came with holiday season activities is stabilizing, Dr. Anthony Fauci explained.
"I don't think that the fact that we're beginning to vaccinate people has yet contributed to that slight decline, because we haven't vaccinated enough people yet," Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on MSNBC's "The Beat" Friday.
Here's a quick rundown:
- In early January, the 7-day moving average reached 250,000 cases per day.
- This week, the 7-day moving average this week stayed below 150,000 cases per day.
- New cases of Covid-19 were down by 15% from last week.
"What I think is going on, a combination of the natural peaking, as well as people doubling down on the public health measure," Fauci said. "I believe it's entirely conceivable that a combination of continuing with that trend, as well as we get more and more people vaccinated, as we go from February, to March, to April, I think you're going to see that [cases] continue to come way down."
Fauci also said that right now "the only wild card" is that we have Covid-19 variants in the country.