• The novel coronavirus "very well might" become cyclical and the US needs to be prepared for it to return seasonally, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at the White House on Wednesday. 
  • "I know we'll be successful in putting this down now, but we really need to be prepared for another cycle," Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious disease, told reporters at the daily coronavirus briefing. 
  • Fauci said this emphasizes the need to rapidly develop and test a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. 
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious disease, on Wednesday warned that the novel coronavirus could come back in "cycles," and urged the US to be prepared. 

The virus "very well might" become cyclical and experienced seasonally, Fauci said at the daily White House briefing on coronavirus. "We really need to be prepared for another cycle," he added.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said this emphasizes the need to continue developing a vaccine and test it quickly so it will be available "for that next cycle." 

Additionally, Fauci said the US needs to continue to do the "randomized, controlled trial of drugs, so that we will have a menu of drugs" that are proven to be effective and safe.

"I know we'll be successful in putting this down now, but we really need to be prepared for another cycle. And what we're doing, I believe, will prepare us well," Fauci said. 

Fauci, who has advised six presidents over a distinguished career and is now on the White House coronavirus task force, has become among the most influential figures in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. An Insider poll released Wednesday found Americans trust Fauci most when it comes to official guidance on the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus task force, echoed Fauci at Wednesday's press briefing. 

"We're dealing with Cycle A right now," Birx said, as she underscored the need to be prepared for a fall 2020 or 2021 outbreak. 

As of Wednesday evening, more than 64,000 coronavirus cases have been reported across all 50 states and Washington, DC, and killed at leat 920. 

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