Face masks may be necessary into 2022, Dr Fauci says

In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press", Dr Fauci said it was too soon to pinpoint when the United States might reach herd immunity.

He told "Fox News Sunday" that whether people in the United States will later need a booster shot depends on the path the variant discovered in South Africa takes

While the currently available vaccines appear protective against the UK variant that has appeared across the country, they are less protective against the South African one, which so far is not dominant, he said

"If in fact this becomes more dominant, we may have to get aversion of the vaccine that is directed specifically against the South African isolate," Dr Fauci told Fox, saying studies were already under way