US may gain control over Covid by autumn: Anthony Fauci

Los Angeles: The leading US infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on Wednesday he foresees America achieving enough collective Covid-19 immunity through vaccinations to regain “some semblance of normality” by autumn 2021, despite early setbacks in the vaccine rollout.

Fauci made his remarks during an online discussion of the pandemic with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who announced that a more infectious coronavirus variant originally found in Britain has been detected in his state, a day after the first known US case was documented in Colorado.

Newsom said the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 had been confirmed earlier in the day in a Southern California patient. The California Department of Public Health said that the person, a San Diego County patient, has no known travel history, suggesting the variant is spreading within the community.