US: Fauci says 'open season' by April for vaccinations

ANKARA

The US' leading infectious disease expert predicted Thursday that by April it will be "open season" for coronavirus vaccinations in the country, when all groups will able to receive shots.

"I would imagine by the time we get to April, that would be what I call ... open season. Namely, virtually everybody and anybody in any category can start to get vaccinated," Anthony Fauci said on NBC's Today show.

The pace of the vaccinations will pick up "as we get into March and April," President Joe Biden's science advisor said, however, he cautioned it would take "several more months" to vaccinate everyone.

Fauci said he hopes the overwhelming majority of Americans will receive shots by the end of summer.

Regarding the UK variant, the expert said it has spread more rapidly but "the vaccines we have seem to do well" against the variant.

More than 44.7 million Americans have received a vaccine as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The US is the worst-hit country by the pandemic with more than 27.3 million cases and nearly 472,500 fatalities, according to a running tally of Johns Hopkins University.

ANKARA

The US' leading infectious disease expert predicted Thursday that by April it will be "open season" for coronavirus vaccinations in the country, when all groups will able to receive shots.

Fauci said he hopes the overwhelming majority of Americans will receive shots by the end of summer.

Regarding the UK variant, the expert said it has spread more rapidly but "the vaccines we have seem to do well" against the variant.

More than 44.7 million Americans have received a vaccine as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The US is the worst-hit country by the pandemic with more than 27.3 million cases and nearly 472,500 fatalities, according to a running tally of Johns Hopkins University.