Dr. Anthony Fauci offered a grim image of the coronavirus pandemic, telling students Tuesday that between 300,000 and 400,000 people could die from the disease in the United States.
Speaking at a virtual event hosted by American University, the White House coronavirus specialist said: "If we don't do what we need to in the fall and winter, we could have 300,000-400,000 Covid-19 deaths," according to excerpts tweeted by the school.
More than 200,000 people have died from the disease in the United States, and over 7 million have been diagnosed with it. A University of Washington study found in August that as many as 300,000 people could die of the disease by Dec. 1.
Fauci added that a vaccine likely won't be widely available until next summer or fall. That timeline is in line with a prediction by CDC Director Robert Redfield, who warned the Senate Appropriations Committee last month that it would take about six to nine months to vaccinate the public once a vaccine is approved.
Moncef Slaoui, the scientific leader of the government program rushing through vaccine development, wrote in August that 300 million vaccine doses could be available by the middle of next year.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also said during the New Yorker Festival on Monday that normal life may not resume until the end of 2021 due to the challenges of distributing the vaccine.
During his AU talk, Fauci also addressed recent public skepticism toward him. Though numerous polls over the summer found overwhelming bipartisan confidence in the infectious disease expert, faith in him has since started to wane, particularly among Republicans.
"Maybe 50% of you hate me because you think I'm trying to destroy the country, but listen to me for six weeks or so, and do what I say, and you'll see the numbers go down," Fauci said, according to the university.
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