The United States has reported a decline in Covid-19 cases in recent days, a glimmer of hope following a surge since the fall and through the winter holiday season. The U.S. is reporting an average of roughly 187,593 new Covid-19 cases daily, a 22% decline compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
However, the nation is still “in a very serious situation,” Fauci said during his first White House press briefing appearance under the new administration on Thursday, noting the country’s high death toll and strained hospital capacity.
Fauci said that the daily number of cases, based on a weekly average, appears to be plateauing and turning around. It’s possible that the dip could still be because of a reduced reporting following the holidays, he added.
“When we see that, we think it’s real,” Fauci said.
Biden’s warnings come as the country races to administer 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots within the first 100 days in his administration. The nation’s vaccine rollout has been slow to start, though health experts have said that Biden’s 100 million shots goal is doable.
The pace of vaccinations have picked up over the last week. The U.S. has administered 1.6 million Covid-19 vaccines between Thursday and Friday, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggesting that 100 million shots in 100 days would be a feasible goal if that daily count continues.
Biden has dismissed the idea that the goal might be too low of a threshold, claiming that he was told before he took office that the aim might be too high. Biden’s spokesperson didn’t respond to CNBC’s question regarding the president’s comments.
“I find it fascinating that yesterday the press asked the question, ‘Is 100 million enough?’ The week before they said, ‘Biden, are you crazy? You can’t do 100 million in 100 days,” the president said during the Friday press briefing. “We’re, God willing, not only going to do 100 million, we’re going to do more than that.”
— CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk and Nate Rattner contributed to this report.
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