Fauci: Second Wave of Coronavirus 'Not Inevitable' -- 'Feeling Better About' Preventing It

During the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, many health officials speculated a second wave as bad as the first would hit in the latter part of 2020 as the world waits for a vaccine. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of President Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force, said there is a possibility of another wave, but said “it is not inevitable.”

Fauci told “CNN Newsroom” co-host Jim Sciutto that a second wave is preventable with proper testing, isolation and contact tracing as the United States slowly reopens.

“It’s getting better and better, Jim,” Fauci advised. “I’m feeling better about it as we go by with the weeks that go by, and we see that we’re getting more and more capability of testing. The CDC is putting more of a workforce out there to help us do the kinds of identification, isolation and contact tracing. I feel better and better that we’re capable of doing that.”

He continued, “[W]e often talk about the possibility of a second wave, or of an outbreak when you’re reopening. We don’t have to accept that as an inevitability. Particularly when people start thinking about the fall, I want people to really appreciate that it could happen, but it is not inevitable. If we do the kinds of things that we’re putting in place now, to have the workforce, the system, and the will to do the kinds of things that are the clear and effective identification, isolation and contact tracing, we can prevent this second wave that we’re talking about. If we do it correctly.”

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