'Really quite risky' to pull back on COVID safety

WISCONSIN, United States

America's top infectious disease expert cited Europe on Tuesday as a warning that it is too soon for the nation to pull back on coronavirus mitigation efforts.

"If you look at the [US] numbers, they're still at a level that are really quite risky," Anthony Fauci told the MSNBC network and said the sharp decline in new infections in the US from earlier in the winter is "really good news."

Fauci said the number of new daily cases has dropped from 300,000 to 400,000 cases per day in January, to a plateau of about 45,000 to 60,000 per day.

"That's much better," said Fauci, "but still at an unacceptably high level."

States across the country have been lifting COVID-19 restrictions for weeks, in small and big ways. In New York City, indoor dining is back. In Illinois, bars and restaurants are being allowed to stay open later and be filled to a larger capacity.

"We've really got to be careful we don't claim victory," Fauci said, "and pull back on all the public health measures that we know work in keeping a lid on surging infections."

He gave a stark warning about Europe, where virus surges have precipitated similar surges in the US.

"Europe is generally a few weeks ahead of us in the dynamics of the outbreak. They had been plateauing (on new cases), then they pulled back a bit on their mitigation efforts, and all of a sudden it started to surge again and we don't want to see that in the United States."

Fauci was asked about concerns in Europe about the vaccine from AstraZeneca. Some countries have pulled back on their use of that vaccine on concerns about blood clotting.

Fauci said the company and the World Health Organization have said problems are unrelated to the drug.

As for the US, the nation has seen no "red flags,” he said, with the administration of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, with 11% to 12% of the population fully vaccinated.

Polls show upwards of 30% of Americans still do not trust the vaccines, and say they will not get one.

Fauci said he and the Biden administration have been trying to reach out to skeptics, and ask why they are hesitant and explain how the vaccine was developed.

Fauci has also been urging former President Donald Trump, Fauci's former boss, to encourage his millions of supporters to get the vaccine -- but not to his face.

"No, I have not reached out to him directly. I do it in so many ways indirectly, including the conversation that you and I are having right now," he said.