--- title: "Fauci: The Coronavirus Will Probably Be Around Forever" description: "White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned on Wednesday that it's unlikely the coronavirus will ever go away completely." date: "2020-07-23" modified: "2020-07-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/fauci-coronavirus-will-probably-be-around-forever" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "donald trump" - "fauci" --- # Fauci: The Coronavirus Will Probably Be Around Forever ![White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned on Wednesday that it's unlikely the coronavirus will ever go away completely.]() *\Image: White House\* White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned on Wednesday that it's unlikely the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 will ever go away completely. "It is so efficient in its ability to transmit from human to human that I think we ultimately will get control of it. I don’t really see us eradicating it," Fauci told *TB Alliance* in an interview on Wednesday, as [quoted by *CNBC*](). But not all is lost. "I think with a combination of good public health measures, a degree of global herd immunity and a good vaccine, which I do hope and feel cautiously optimistic that we will get, I think when we put all three of those together, we will get control of this, whether it’s this year or next year," Fauci added. That scenario would be vastly preferable to today's, with American casualties creeping back over 1,000 deaths per day. "We’ll bring it down to such a low level that we will not be in the position we are right now for an extended period of time," he said. Fauci's statements appear to contradict president Donald Trump, who has [repeatedly claimed]() that the coronavirus will simply disappear. "Well, the virus will disappear," Trump [told reporters]() just yesterday, as quoted by *NBC*. "It will disappear." Despite that optimism, the president's tone has shifted considerably this week. "It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better," Trump added. "Something I don't like saying about things, but that's the way it is," The public's trust in Trump's statements about the virus has fallen considerably, with Americans still putting far more trust in what experts are saying, [according to recent polls](). The reality is grim. In many ways, the United States couldn't be further from defeating the virus. Cases are still soaring in several states, with a total number of confirmed cases about to cross the [four million threshold](). The total number of American deaths stands at more than 143,000. "We are certainly not at the end of the game," Fauci admitted in the *TB Alliance* interview. "Certainly we are not winning the game right now. We are not beating it." Fauci described how unique the situation is, with the coronavirus differing in many ways from previous viral epidemics, including SARS in the early 2000s. "I have never seen infection in which you have such a broad range literally no symptoms at all in a substantial proportion of the population to some who get ill with minor symptoms to some who get ill enough to be in bed for weeks," he said. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()