Fauci admits COVID won't be eliminated, advises people to calculate risk

White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted on Sunday that COVID-19 will not be eliminated and that people will have to calculate their own level of risk that they are willing to take with the virus. 

"This is not going to be eradicated and it's not going to be eliminated," Fauci told Jonathan Karl on ABC's "This Week."

"What's going to happen is that we're going to see that each individual is going to have to make their calculation of the amount of risk that they want to take in going to indoor dinners and in going to functions, even within the realm of a green zone map of the country where you see everything looks green but it's starting to tick up," he said. 

As of Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has placed most of the United States at green, or at a "low" level of community transmission, and the 7-day moving average for cases sits at less than 27,000.

"We're going to have to live with some degree of virus in the community," Fauci said, adding, "The best way to mitigate that, Jon, is to get vaccinated."

Fauci urged Americans ages 50 and older as well as immunocompromised people to get the fourth COVID-19 vaccine.

He also warned that Americans could be required to mask-up again if cases rise.

"We may need to revert back to being more careful and having more utilizations of masks indoors. But right now we're watching it very, very carefully. And there is concern that it's going up," he said. "But hopefully we're not going to see increased severity."

The chief White House medical advisor also said he hopes Congress will provide more funding for COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. 

"I hope the Congress comes through and gives us the resources so that as we get into what might be another surge that we're prepared with the -- all of the tools that we need to address it," he said, adding, "If we don't get that support, Jon, we're not going to be ready for it."