Will there be full SEC stadiums in 2021? Dr. Anthony Fauci offers optimistic outlook
For as much as players and coaches have adjusted to the new protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic this season, the atmosphere in stadiums has also seen a dramatic change. Most SEC stadiums have limited capacity to about 20,000 fans, and many have fallen below that number.
As vaccines for the virus roll out, there will be adjustments made for leagues like the SEC and individual programs to return to welcoming more fans at more games going forward.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gave an interview to Yahoo Sports, and offered a timeline of how the sports world will ramp up fans being involved in games.
When asked about full NFL stadiums in September, Fauci said: “Oh, that’s possible. I think that’s possible.”
The extent to which SEC stadiums are full will likely come down to the vaccination rate across the country, along with local and state health department decisions.
“We could get there by the end of the summer, and as we get into the fall of next year,” Fauci said. But “if 50 percent of the people say, ‘You know, I don’t want to get vaccinated,’ then it’s gonna take considerably longer than that.”
He also added that 20,000-seat NBA arenas in July, when the postseason is scheduled to conclude, would be “cutting it close.”
“We’re gonna be vaccinating the highest-priority people (from) the end of December through January, February, March,” Fauci said. “By the time you get to the general public, the people who’ll be going to the basketball games, who don’t have any underlying conditions, that’s gonna be starting the end of April, May, June. So it probably will be well into the end of the summer before you can really feel comfortable (with full sports stadiums) – if a lot of people get vaccinated. I don’t think we’re going to be that normal in July. I think it probably would be by the end of the summer.”
This clown has been his position since the 70s and his only job was to prepare for a pandemic, and he failed. I’d take Dumbo’s word over his.
Probably not the brightest take.
You actually take him seriously? Masks don’t work then wear masks. Lockdown then don’t lock down. Flatten the curve did that 7 months ago still illegally locking states down. Wear your sign of government submission mask.
It’s sad what has happened to you. I’m not getting into a big debate with someone that has clearly been brainwashed, but there is a reason the US is doing far worse than any other country in the world with regards to the virus. It’s called a lack of leadership and that’s Trump. Odd that masks and social distancing work in other countries. And before you make a erroneous assumption, I voted for Trump twice.
If they work in other countries why is it that if you look at deaths per capita it is higher in many countries. US is 825 per million, which is 13th, but most are bunched around that number.
President Trump made mistakes, and probably was given bad advice as well. But to blame him entirely is unfair.
Thanks for the honest take MC, you’re pretty steady that way. The country needs more of it.
JTF I imagine the death rate is higher in other countries because of of the difference in quality of healthcare in said countries.
Maybe, but most have government healthcare so shouldn’t it be better?
I haven’t seen the comparison of deaths by country so I don’t know which ones have guaranteed healthcare. What I’ve seen about “government healthcare” is that it doesn’t necessarily mean better quality as much as it means better access.
Wow, the crazies are out in full force here. It’s hilarious that they place blame on Fauci when Fauci has been routinely ignored by Trump and his allies. It’s definitely sad that these people live in a reality of “alternative facts” because they’re not only hurting themselves, they’re making this country unlivable.
Fauci is a member of the party that has tried to tear down trump since he took office. Not sure who is crazier to trust in this picture. Dr. Riots Are Safe or orange man. Flip a coin
This guy is qualified for his position as Sarah fuller is to being a football player.
Dr. FALSIE should be arrested and tried with the others for his part in the attempt to destroy our Nation! NOTHING has been proven that 250k+ Americans have died from the FLU in comparison to prior years! Did the REGULAR flu take a hike and not kill anyone this year? A study by John Hopkins was published and then yanked due to the TRUTHS it exposed! Our Nation has been held hostage by that little twerp and the communistic democrats!
Doctor Fauci did a great job with HIV/AIDS.
We’ve only had 40k+ new cases every year, year after year, since the 90s for an actual deadly virus with a very known, very clear path of transmission that can be easily isolated and prevented.
All on Fauci.
OMG logic and facts…who are you? what are you doing here??
What’s say our enemies won’t just come up with a new strain? They have a perfect roadmap.
No need. People have shown they’ll do what they’re told, to the point of not celebrating Thanksgiving and accepting state-level border checkpoints while our betters in government ignore the rules they insist we follow. Remember Fauci putting his mask on for the cameras while standing alone on the mound while trying to throw a baseball and removing that same mask when he returned to sit beside his friends in the stands?
Freedom is difficult. “Safety” is preferred. We’re about to get safety good and hard.