The origin of the virus is hotly contested, with US intelligence agencies still examining reports that researchers at a Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan were seriously ill in 2019 a month before the first COVID-19 cases were reported.
In its new guidance, the CDC says, “fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues.”
“We got to make that transition,” Fauci said. “If you are going into a completely crowded situation where people are essentially falling all over each other, then you wear a mask.”
Young people have been less likely to suffer severe disease and more likely to have asymptomatic infection, allowing them to unwittingly transmit COVID-19 to others.
Washington state Governor Jay Inslee this week ordered a 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the UK, South Africa or other countries where the new variant had been detected.
With hospitalizations setting a record for the 19th day in a row - nearly 113,000 patients under treatment on Wednesday - health experts warn that fatalities will rise higher still in the weeks ahead, even as the vaccine campaign steadily expands.
US top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told MSNBC on Monday that Americans with no heightened risk factors could expect to get vaccinated by late March or early April.
Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday intended to ensure that priority access for COVID-19 vaccines procured by the US government is given to the American people before assisting other nations.