Dr. Fauci has warned President Joe Biden’s hope that life will be mostly back to normal by this time next year is overly optimistic. Breitbart reported Dr. Fauci responding, “I don’t think we’re going to be completely normal a year from now.”
In a University of Edinburgh event, Dr. Fauci said, “I hope we’re well on the way to normality so that we can ultimately get the world protected at the same time as we get economic recovery so that all the unintended consequences of shutting down begin to normalize, including other health issues that have arisen because of the shutdown.”
Fauci says he remains concerned about the spread of variants, as well as opening the nation back up too quickly. However, he has admitted the need for a balance, as extended lockdowns include consequences such as mental health and economic problems.
Not everyone is taking the doctor’s advice, however. This week, both Texas and Mississippi have reopened their states, rolling back mask mandates completely.
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has long served as an advocate for keeping states open. His policy garnered much enthusiasm at the recent CPAC conference, where he received the second highest number of votes in a 2024 Republican presidential straw poll.
South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem has also received attention for her CPAC statement, “Dr. Fauci is wrong a lot.” She referenced his frequently-changing medical advice regarding COVID-19.
Despite the rapid rollout of vaccines and declining COVID-19 hospitalizations, Dr. Fauci remains concerned about reopening the nation. But after a year of lockdowns, many Americans are done with medical advice and masks.
In some ways, people have voted with their feet during the pandemic. Florida, Texas, and Arizona experienced the most growth of any states in the nation. California and New York had the most people moving out of their states in 2020.
Businesses are also making moves to better handle liberal lockdowns. In California, several major businesses uprooted in 2020, including Elon Musk’s Tesla and Oracle.
You know it’s serious when sports are moving as well. The Pasadena, California Rose Bowl was restricted from hosting fans on New Year’s Day. The result? The Rose Bowl was moved to Arlington, Texas, where fans enjoyed football to start 2021.
In Florida, the state even invited the Summer Olympic Games to be moved to the Sunshine State. Though Tokyo responded with plans to continue hosting the Olympics, it reveals those states open for business are making creative gains over states extending lockdowns.
Dr. Fauci may be looking at March 2022 to return to normal, but a look at the nation’s spring break plans show many Americans are “returning to normal” without the doctor’s permission. Travel continues to increase, spring break baseball is inviting limited fans, and even the woke NBA is planning its annual All-Star game.
America doesn’t need another year to get back to normal. It just needs to get back to work.
