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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top expert on infectious disease, predicts that we will be able to gather in large groups unmasked and inside by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
Fauci made the prediction on Politico’s podcast, “Politico Dispatch,” when he was asked when he thought people in the United States would be able to gather in a crowded movie theater without masks.
“I think it’s going to be late fall or early winter that we’ll be able to do that,” he said.
He said in the meantime, people need to continue to wear masks, and that the US government needs to encourage people to get vaccinated to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Fauci previously made similar comments. At a New York Press Club briefing in January, he said that if 70% to 85% of the population is vaccinated by mid- or late-fall 2021, people could look forward to returning to crowded theaters for movies, plays, and musicals while wearing masks.
“I think there’s a reasonable chance that if we do get that number and that percentage of people vaccinated, that we will be able to go to a movie or to go to a theater,” he said.
He has also made similar comments about the return of relatively normal group activities before, saying it depends on when herd immunity is achieved.
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Originally published at https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-predicts-timeline-large-gatherings-without-masks-2021-4 on .
