
The United States still hasn't seen the full impact that Thanksgiving gatherings likely will have on rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday.
"The blip from Thanksgiving isn't even here yet," Fauci told CBS' Norah O'Donnell during the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit.
"So we're getting those staggering numbers of new cases and hospitalizations before we even feel the full brunt of the Thanksgiving holiday," Fauci said, adding that the US could see a rise in cases and hospitalizations due to the holiday — and the nation needs to be mindful of following guidelines during the upcoming winter holidays.
"For the first time in more than 30 years I’m not spending the Christmas holidays with my daughters,” Fauci said.
He said political leaders who call for the public to stay home but don't follow those guidelines themselves are setting "a bad example."
"That's a bad example," Fauci said. "Several of them, as we know from the news – I was watching the news last night – unfortunately, some of them did but they were caught."