Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious diseases, spoke Wednesday to Harvard's School of Public Health amid the record-breaking spread of COVID-19 and impending announcements on vaccines.
Watch the event below:
Fauci's comments come amid the deadliest stretch of the pandemic to date.
An average of 2,600 Americans are dying of the virus every day to go with an average of more than 200,000 new infections. The surge in the spread of the virus comes as many hospitals are full — a record 104,000 people in the U.S. are battling the virus in a hospital.
Despite those grim numbers, Fauci said earlier this week that he expects things to get worse. He told CBS News on Monday that the U.S. still has not seen the expected spread of the virus that was facilitated by travel and indoor gatherings during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Fauci's comments also come as the FDA weighs Emergency Use Authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate made by Pfizer. Officials at the agency are expected to meet Thursday to discuss granting authorization, meaning Americans could receive initial doses as soon as next week.
The event also comes a day after president-elect Joe Biden formally introduced Fauci as a top medical adviser in his administration. Biden also said he worked with Fauci to establish three goals to fight COVID-19 in his first 100 days in office: Institute mask mandates where possible, give out 100 million doses of vaccine and get as many kids back to in-person learning as possible.