A key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force said the COVID-19 pandemic could extend into another season.
"I told you some time ago that a vaccine is being developed, it still will be quite a while before we have it. But it is conceivable that this may go into another season, and if it does it will bring us that much closer to the possibility of having not only drugs available, but also a vaccine," Dr. Anthony Fauci told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, added that President Donald Trump has an "open mind" and is listening to his medical experts as he eyes relaxing some of the restrictions placed on Americans to control the spread of COVID-19.
"The president clearly listens. I mean, he has this aspirational goal of hoping that we might be able to do it by a certain date. We talked to him about that," Fauci said. "We say we need to be flexible. He realizes that and he accepts that."
Trump on Tuesday said he would like to see some of the restrictions lifted by Easter, which is April 12, but Fauci said that may not be possible.
"He doesn't want to give up his aspirational goal, but he's flexible enough to say, 'OK, let's look at it on a day-by-day basis.' We say and we will give him data to inform that decision," Fauci said.
"He's been very flexible about it, even though it looks like he's made this absolute decision on something. He does have an open mind about it."
The COVID-19 outbreak has killed nearly 20,000 people worldwide and has infected in excess of 436,000 people. According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has seen more than 55,000 cases and 800 deaths.
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