(WATCH) Fauci Says It’s “Entirely Conceivable” Americans Need a Yearly COVID-19 Booster

Dr. Fraudci over the weekend said it is “entirely conceivable” that Americans will need a yearly COVID-19 booster shot.

“When do we phase out the term booster and transition to a yearly shot, much like a flu. Is that a possibility or a reality?” Pix11 reporter Dan Mannarino asked the NIAID director.

“We should really be, and ultimately be talking more about keeping your vaccinations up to date,” Fraudci said.

“That might merge into a yearly boost….it’s entirely conceivable…We know that immunity wanes over time. We know that you need to be boosted to be protected,” he added.

WATCH:

“So depending upon what this virus does, there is certainly a reasonably good chance that we will have the same sort of situation that we have with influenza, where every year you have to re-boost people to keep that protection up,” he said.

Oregon Live noted:

COVID-19 is here to stay, the country’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday.

The persistence of the coronavirus means yearly vaccine booster shots could be in store for everyone, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, told PIX 11 in an interview.

“We’re going to be dealing with this virus on a chronic basis,” Fauci said. “We really hope … it will reach a level low enough that it doesn’t disrupt us to the extent that it has over the past couple of years.”

In recent weeks, COVID case numbers have been increasing nationwide. Average daily case numbers have risen about 26% around the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Fauci noted while many cases are going unreported, hospitalizations are a good gauge of the outbreak.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a second COVID vaccine booster shot for those ages 50 and older.

All Americans can expect to get regular boosters in the future, according to Fauci, who compared the situation to annual flu shots.