Fauci voices hope for return to normalcy around February or March

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People line up outside of a free COVID-19 vaccination site that opened today in the Hubbard Place apartment building on Dec. 3, 2021, in Washington, DC. The DC Department of Health is stepping up vaccination and booster shots as more cases of the Omicron variant are being discovered in the United States.

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A woman gets vaccinated with an infant on her back at a shopping center near Buwi Secondary School on Dec. 15, 2021, in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. The country has extended a series of measures, including mandatory PCR tests for arriving travelers, an overnight curfew and alcohol bans to combat the omicron COVID-19 variant, which was first identified in nearby South Africa. Dozens of other countries soon reported their own cases.

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Registered nurse Emma Ahearn puts a bandaid on the arm of Sennen Bond after she received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as dad Edward Bond looks on at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice in Balgowlah on Jan. 11, 2022, in Sydney, Australia.

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A health worker administers the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a police officer at a government hospital in Hyderabad, India on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. Healthcare and front-line workers, along with people above age 60 with health problems, lined up Monday at vaccination centers across India to receive a third vaccination as infections linked to the omicron variant surge. India calls these "precautionary" doses and not boosters.

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A healthcare worker administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a person at a drive-thru site in Tropical Park on Dec. 16, 2021, in Miami, Fla. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava visited the vaccination site to encourage residents to take holiday gatherings outside this year, get tested for COVID-19, and get vaccinated.

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A resident receives a dose of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a rural village on Dec. 1, 2021, in Aringay, La Union province, Philippines. The Philippines is rushing to vaccinate its population as it mulls making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory and amid the looming threat of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a daily briefing at the White House in December. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

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Residents fill out documents as they wait for their turn at a COVID-19 vaccination center in Quezon City, Philippines on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022.

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FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. Federal scientists didn't foresee the extent of the mutations in the omicron variant, Dr. Fauci said Sunday.

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A man pulls his shirt up while his wife receives her fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine in a private nursing home in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Even in relatively small, wealthy Israel, an early global leader against the coronavirus pandemic, the omicron variant is outpacing the government's ability to make and execute clear pandemic public policy. What once was a straightforward regimen of vaccines, testing, contact tracing and distancing for the nation of 9.3 million has splintered into a zigzag of rules that seem to change every few days.

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A child receives a dose of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine for children at the children's section of the Lanxess Arena vaccination center during the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic on Dec. 18, 2021, in Cologne, Germany. Germany has launched COVID-19 vaccinations for children in the 5-11 age group this week as infection rates, which had skyrocketed in recent weeks, show signs of coming down, though experts are warning that the spread of the omicron variant could soon cause infections to rise anew.

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A man receives the vaccine at FieraMesse, the trade fair center of Bolzano, during a COVID-19 vaccination marathon in South Tyrol, on Dec. 11, 2021, in Bolzano, Italy. Italy's German-speaking north has one of the country's lowest vaccination turn-outs and high infection rates, with the onset of ski season and Christmas, efforts are underway to encourage inoculation against COVID-19.

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A doctor of the German Red Cross talks to a woman before her Dec. 30, 2021, in Frankfurt, Germany. Approximately 71 percent of people in Germany are now fully vaccinated and 36.6 percent have received a booster shot.

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Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives a coronavirus booster vaccination on Dec. 4, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland.

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern receives her Pfizer booster vaccination on Jan. 17, 2022, in Auckland, New Zealand. Booster shots are now available for all other eligible New Zealanders across the country.

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Creedence Ngatai-Baldwin, 12, gets his first COVID-19 vaccine with the Te Whanau O Waipareira vax team. The team is helping vaccinate locals in Papakura as part of the Whanau Ora campaign on Nov. 30, 2021, in Auckland, New Zealand. A network of Maori health providers is traveling around Northland and Auckland in New Zealand to bring vaccines to the Maori population who are vaccinated at a lower rate than the rest of the population.

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Paula shows her certificate of bravery after she received a dose of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine for children at the children's section of the Lanxess Arena vaccination center during the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic on Dec. 18, 2021, in Cologne, Germany.

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Paula Cowey, a Pharmacy Technician, administers a COVID-19 booster vaccination to Michael Bainbridge from Bishop Auckland at Knights Pharmacy on Dec. 18, 2021, in Bishop Auckland, England.

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Soldiers of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) administer COVID-19 booster vaccines at the walk-in clinic at Chester Cathedral on Dec. 15, 2021, in Manchester, England.

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A woman gets a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine at the vaccination center in La Paz, Bolivia on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. The center is using Sinopharm, Sputnik and AstraZeneca.

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Manon holds a handwritten bravery diploma after receiving a dose of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Strasbourg, France on Dec. 22, 2021. France recorded almost 73,000 new infections on Dec. 21, with an average of over 54,000 over the last seven days. But officials fear that the emergence of Omicron has changed the nature of the pandemic.

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Medical workers prepare shots of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, in a vaccination center, in Nantes, western France, on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. France has vaccinated 77 percent of its population and is rushing out booster shots. But more than 4 million adults remain unvaccinated.

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Ethan Young, 9, is vaccinated at the drive-through vaccination center at North Shore Events Centre on Jan. 17, 2022, in Auckland, New Zealand.

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A doctor wears a princess costume as she prepares a dose of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for a child in Strasbourg, France on Dec. 22, 2021, as France opened vaccinations to children aged between five and eleven in its latest step to combat a fresh wave of cases.

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A child receives a dose of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Clemenceau rehabilitation center in Strasbourg, France on Dec. 22, 2021. The number of daily COVID-19 cases in France is set to exceed 100,000 by the end of December due to the faster-spreading Omicron variant.

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People rest after receiving their booster COVID-19 vaccines from soldiers of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) at the walk-in vaccine clinic at Chester Cathedral on Dec. 15, 2021, in Manchester, England. Soldiers of the British Army have been trained by the NHS to help the country's vaccination effort after the government announced it was accelerating its COVID-19 booster program due to concerns about the omicron variant.

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A health worker inoculates a man with the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Quezon City, Philippines on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. Officials said they are assuming that the local transmission of the highly contagious omicron variant is driving the current spike in COVID-19 cases as the government enforces stricter health restrictions in the country.

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People queue for COVID-19 vaccination at a point set up by a mobile vaccination team at Buwi Secondary School on Dec. 15, 2021, in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe.

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People wait during an observation period after having received Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in a vaccination center, in Nantes, western France on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau receives his COVID-19 vaccine booster shot at a pharmacy in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.

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Judit Kagan, 75, receives her fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine in a private nursing home in Petah Tikva, Israel on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Israel's prime minister says a fourth vaccination against the omicron variant of the coronavirus generates a five-fold increase in antibodies to fight the virus.

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Stephen Delaney covers the face of son Lachlan Delany as he receives his Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice in Balgowlah on Jan. 11, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. Australian children aged five to 11 are now eligible to access the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine following approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

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Healthcare workers cross a river as they transport COVID-19 vaccines to rural villages on Dec. 1, 2021, in Aringay, La Union province, Philippines.

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Marion Timoteo, 11, presents his vaccination card as the first group of children under 12 years of age to be part of the immunization campaign against COVID-19 on Jan. 17, 2022, at Museu do Amanha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The vaccination campaign will now include children aged 5 to 11.

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Children queue with their families to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a walk-in clinic at Sculptor Alberto Sanchez Public School on Dec. 15, 2021, in Toledo, Spain. Spain began the COVID-19 vaccination of children from 5 to 11 years old, an age group experiencing high coronavirus infection rates across Europe.

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A health care worker of Castilla La Mancha Health Care (SESCAM) administers the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to a girl at a walk-in clinic at Sculptor Alberto Sanchez Public School on Dec. 15, 2021, in Toledo, Spain.

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A street tram is used as a mobile vaccine center against COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic on Dec. 30, 2021, in Frankfurt, Germany.

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Rio Health secretary vaccinates young Davi Silva as part of the first group of children under 12 years of age to be part of the immunization campaign against COVID-19 on Jan. 17, 2022, at Museu do Amanha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Davi has type 1 glutaric aciduria.

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A healthcare worker administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a person at a drive-thru site in Tropical Park on Dec. 16, 2021, in Miami, Fla.

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Children Jacob and Lisa receive a dose of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine for children at the children's section of the Lanxess Arena vaccination center during the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic on Dec. 18, 2021, in Cologne, Germany.

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Principal Alice Hom (purple jacket) stands outside Yung Wing School P.S. 124 and a vax van where, for the second time this month, pop-up sites have been stationed to offer students age 5-11 the COVID-19 vaccine on Nov. 18, 2021, in New York City.

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Silke Becker-Pauwels administers the COVID-19 vaccine of Moderna in a mobile vaccination station in a street tram on Dec. 30, 2021, in Frankfurt, Germany. Germany has confirmed over 10,000 infections with the Omicron variant, a number health experts predict will rise rapidly in coming weeks.

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Alex Vanderbom, 11, is vaccinated with support from brother Eddie Vanderbom, 9, at the drive-through vaccination center at North Shore Events Centre on Jan. 17, 2022, in Auckland, New Zealand.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives a thumbs-up signal after receiving his COVID-19 vaccine booster shot at a pharmacy in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.

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A health worker applies a dose of Pfizer vaccine to Ana Beatriz Silva with her father as part of the first group of children under 12 years of age to be part of the immunization campaign against COVID-19 at Museu do Amanha on Jan. 17, 2022, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, watches Esther receive her COVID-19 booster vaccine during a visit to a vaccination hub at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury, England on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.

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A child gets her first shot of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign at Alba Caracas's hotel in Caracas, Venezuela on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.

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Harrison Nelligan, 9, is vaccinated at the drive-through vaccination center at North Shore Events Centre on Jan. 17, 2022, in Auckland, New Zealand. New Zealand children aged five to 11 are now eligible to access the COVID-19 vaccine, while booster shots are also now available for all other eligible New Zealanders across the country.

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A nurse vaccinates a woman carrying a baby on her back at a hospital at Parirenyatwa group of hospitals on Dec. 1, 2021, in Harare, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is among the southern African countries facing travel bans after the omicron COVID-19 variant was first reported in neighboring South Africa.