Pandemic not over, US unlikely to eliminate Covid: Anthony Fauci

The coronavirus pandemic is not over and it is unlikely that the United States will ever eliminate COVID-19 but should strive to control the virus, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Friday.

Health officials are instead hoping to get out of what he called the "acute pandemic phase" and reach a point where the virus can be controlled, Fauci said at a virtual event hosted by the National Press Club in Washington.

"When I said we are no longer in that fulminant acute phase, that does not mean that the pandemic is over. By no means is it over. We still are experiencing a global pandemic," he said.