Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts church services — with hugging, praising, and music-making — will be able to resume safely in mid-fall, if the US vaccinates people “appropriately, effectively, and efficiently.”
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the projection Monday during the Choose Healthy Life Black Clergy Conclave, an online convening of more than 100 Black clergy, leading public health officials, and corporate and scientific leaders who are working to boost COVID-19 testing and other resources in the Black community. It was co-led by the Reverends Al Sharpton and Calvin Butts.
When Fauci took the virtual stage, he answered questions from Black clergy around the country. The inquiry about church services came from the Reverend John Vaughn, who was representing Senator-elect Reverend Raphael Warnock from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
“When can we expect to go back to church, when we’ll be able to sing, we’ll be able to do wind instruments?” he asked.
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Fauci said the timeline largely depends on how quickly we can get “the overwhelming proportion of our population,” or at least 70% to 85%, vaccinated.
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