Fauci warns spread of COVID-19 'could get very bad', says no guarantee of vaccine

The United States government’s top infectious diseases expert on Tuesday warned that daily COVID-19 cases could more than double if Americans fail to take countermeasures and cautioned against pinning hopes on a vaccine.

California, Texas and several other states are reporting record increases in cases of the sometimes deadly illness caused by the novel coronavirus, leading to a sobering reassessment of efforts to contain it and raising the stakes for the scores of vaccine candidates being developed at unprecedented speed.

Unless Americans wear masks and recommit to social distancing, the daily increase in new cases nationwide, currently around 40,000, could reach 100,000, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a U.S. Senate committee.

“Clearly we are not in total control right now,” Fauci said. “I am very concerned because it could get very bad.”