"Even though we're pleased by the evidence from multiple countries that it looks like there is a lesser degree of severity, we've got to be careful that we don't get complacent about that. It might still lead to a lot of hospitalizations in the United States," he told ABC News.
UK data suggests that the highly mutated strain, although more contagious than Delta, causes fewer hospitalizations and shorter hospital stays, according to Fauci. The United States was reporting an average of 150,000 daily cases last week and the tally likely will go much higher, the top medical adviser to President Joe Biden said.