COVID-19 pandemic not completely over, Fauci says

Anthony Fauci, the White House's top medical adviser, said on Sunday the COVID-19 pandemic is not completely over, The Hill reported.

"So it's much, much better than it was, but it is not at a level low enough where we should feel we're done with it completely, because we're not," Fauci said during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation".

The White House on Nov 22 launched a "six-week sprint" to get more Americans their updated shots as officials struggle to increase uptake.

About 12 percent of the eligible population ages 5 and up in the US have received a dose of the booster shots that target recent variants, according to the CDC.

On the low uptake, Fauci said "It's a combination of an expansion and an amplification of the anti-science, anti-vax."

"There is something I've never seen in my 54 years in medicine at the [National Institutes of Health], is that the acceptance or not of a life-saving intervention is steered very heavily by your political ideology," he added.

Fauci announced in August he planned to step down next month from his roles in government as US President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, as well as director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

As advice before he leaves office, he said repeatedly the pandemic is not over in the US, and vaccination is still very important.

"Please for your own safety and for that of your family, get your updated COVID-19 shot as soon as you're eligible," Fauci said on Nov 22 during a daily press briefing at the White House.

The United States has reported nearly 98.57 million COVID-19 cases and more than 1.08 million deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University released at 0500 GMT on Nov 28.