Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Wednesday that the U.S. and other countries "need to be prepared for another cycle" of the novel coronavirus next winter.
The big picture: Research on how COVID-19 behaves in response to different temperatures and humidity levels has only just begun, the Washington Post notes.
What he's saying: "Would this possibly become a seasonal, cyclic thing? ... I think it very well might," Fauci said. "And the reason I say that, is that what we're starting to see now, in the Southern Hemisphere and southern Africa and in the Southern Hemisphere countries, is we're having cases that are appearing as they go into their winter season."
"And if, in fact, they have a substantial outbreak, it will be inevitable that we need to be prepared that we'll get a cycle around the second time. ... It totally emphasizes the need to do what we're doing in developing a vaccine, testing it quickly and trying to get it ready so that we'll have a vaccine available for that next cycle."
Fauci said he knows "we'll be successful in putting this down now. But we really need to be prepared for another cycle. And what we're doing, I believe, will prepare us well."
