Anthony Fauci shares Biden's concern that Covid-19 pandemic may get worse

The United States is headed for the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the upcoming weeks as Americans will see the effects of the holiday season, top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.

"The reason I'm concerned and my colleagues in public health are concerned also is that we very well might see a post-seasonal, in the sense of Christmas, New Year's, surge," CNN quoted Fauci as saying. "We are really at a very critical point.... So I share the concern of President-elect Biden that as we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse," Fauci added.

President-elect Joe Biden last week had said that "darkest days" against coronavirus "are ahead of us, not behind us."

Last week, Fauci had received the first dose of Moderna vaccine in Bethesda, Maryland. Fauci said he considered it an honour to be part of this process, reported CNN.

"As a symbol to the rest of the country that I feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine, and I want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so we can have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic," Fauci had said.

The COVID-19 case total in the United States surpassed 19 million-mark on Sunday, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from various sources including local authorities and media outlets.

As of 01:23 IST on Monday, Johns Hopkins University had registered 19,069,926 positive tests for the coronavirus disease in the United States.

The country's death toll, at the same time, stood at 332,705. The US case total, which is the largest in the world, topped the 18 million mark this past Monday. Meanwhile, 80,627,634 cases and 1,762,015 deaths have been registered globally.