Dr. Anthony Fauci talked with NBC New York's David Ushery regarding the current surge in COVID-19 cases around the country, a timeline for getting back to "normal" and the chances another potential stay-at-home order gets enacted.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation's top public health expert, also discussed the FDA's approval process for the vaccines and how it will be given out throughout the country.
"I think the people of New York need to realize that even though the CDC will make recommendations based on the advice they got from the committee, the ultimate decision of how it's distributed in the various batches that come through, is to the local officials," Fauci said.
When asked about polls showing skepticism about the safety of the vaccine, he stressed the independence and integrity of the scientists conducting the evaluations of the drugs. Fauci said that once a vaccine gets approved by the FDA, he will get one when it comes to be his turn, and will tell his family to get one as well.
As for when something like Broadway could return with full audiences and without masks, Fauci said it depends "on the uptake of vaccines" by people around the country, specifically New Yorkers.
"We've got to make sure that people get vaccinated. So if 75-85 percent of the people in the country get vaccinated as the vaccine becomes available, and the general public — not speaking of the people of the highest priority who have underlying conditions — the young men and women ... If they get vaccinated through April, May and June, and really do a full-court press to get everybody vaccinated, you can get back to normal or at least approaching close to normal, as you get into the late summer and early fall," Fauci said.
The Brooklyn-born and raised doctor addressed his relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the last time he talked with President Donald Trump and how he's been working with the transition team of President-elect Joe Biden.
