Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reminded Americans that even if a vaccine candidate gets through the testing process and is successful by the end of the year, it will be several months before vaccination is widespread across the US.

"I think as we get into 2021, several months in, that you would have [a] vaccine that would be widely available to people in the United States," Fauci told the Washington Post's Bob Costa during a Post Live event.

That means spring 2021 at the soonest.

Fauci noted that some companies have claimed they could have a vaccine available before the end of the year. "I'm a little skeptical about that, but, you know, anything is possible," he told the Post.

But Fauci says he's confident a vaccine will be able to stop the pandemic in its tracks, once it's widely available.

Fauci also said that as many people as possible should get vaccinated for influenza this year, since the pandemic will complicate flu season.

The other sobering message came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new survey found that coronavirus symptoms can linger for weeks, even among otherwise healthy young adults who don't have severe symptoms.

One in five people 18 to 34 said they had lingering symptoms, usually fatigue or a cough. The older people were, the more likely they were to have lingering symptoms.

US cases top 4 million

Fauci's assessment comes after the US hit a sobering 4 million cases of Covid-19 and the rising daily rate of confirmed cases and hospitalizations suggest the virus is far from under control, medical experts are urging political leaders to shut down the country and start over to contain the pandemic.

California reported 159 additional deaths from the coronavirus on Friday, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. That's the highest number recorded in a single day since the start of the pandemic, and two more than Thursday.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 4,813 new cases. That's the highest number of new cases reported in a 24-hour period.

As of Friday night, more than 4.1 million coronavirus cases and 145,333 deaths have been reported in the United States. There were 67,499 new cases and 1,029 reported deaths on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

More than 150 prominent US medical experts, scientists, teachers, nurses and others have signed a letter to political leaders urging them to shut down the country and start over to contain the surging coronavirus pandemic.

"Right now we are on a path to lose more than 200,000 American lives by November 1st. Yet, in many states people can drink in bars, get a haircut, eat inside a restaurant, get a tattoo, get a massage, and do myriad other normal, pleasant, but non-essential activities," the letter said.

Coronavirus is set to become a leading cause of death in the US, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mo

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