Dr. Anthony Fauci said that life would never again go back to “normal.” The top coronavirus expert leading the US government’s response to the pandemic made the statement during a White House press briefing. He said that societies around the world would start to “function” again, but when it comes to getting back to the pre-coronavirus conditions, that might never happen because the threat of the virus will remain.

He said that the only way for everything to go back to normal again is when the population is protected from the virus. That will only happen when a vaccine has been developed and tested for the virus.

The United States has become the global epicenter of the pandemic. The country is in the middle of what one official has grimly termed as the “peak death week.” There are projections made by models that the death toll could reach over 80,000 in the United States alone by August. White House officials have placed the possible deaths to be as high as 240,000. So far, there are over 390,000 coronavirus cases in the United States, with over 12,000 deaths.

Dr. Fauci assured the public that several therapies are being developed, and they are showing great promise. There are also vaccines in the development process that can protect the world population.

Several medical centers are now participating in the process of clinical trials of the antiviral remdesivir, which is a treatment that was originally developed for Ebola. Another form of treatment that is being tested by various countries is the use of blood plasma from the patients who have recovered from the virus. This treatment is not new and has been tried in previous pandemics, but experts are hopeful that it can prove to be effective. The most controversial treatment so far is the use of hydroxychloroquine. The treatment has become controversial because it is the one being pushed by President Trump, and anything that he backs will automatically receive a backlash from his critics regardless of its merits.

Critics of the president are now saying that the only reason that he is advocating for hydroxychloroquine is that he has a financial stake in the company that produces it. The president is promoting the use of the drug since there is nothing to be lost in trying it and if it proves to be effective, it can save lives.