Fauci says we'll likely learn to live with COVID-19 like we do with the common cold and flu

• Americans will "likely" learn to live with COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.
• "We are not going to be in a situation of this degree of intensity indefinitely," he told CBS Mornings.

Americans will "likely" learn to live with COVID-19 like they do with the common cold and flu, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.

"That's entirely conceivable and likely, as a matter of fact, we are not going to be in a situation of this degree of intensity indefinitely," the nation's top infectious disease expert told Nathaniel Burleson on CBS Mornings.

Fauci said he hopes after this Omicron wave that there will be enough people either vaccinated or recovered from contracting the virus to have a " degree of immunity in the community."

Biden's chief medical adviser also said when the country reaches a point where the level of infection is low, the virus won't dominate everyday life.

"We hope we get there soon," Fauci said.

He said that it's "critical" for unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated in order to curb the spread of the virus.

Just 61.5% of the US population is fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Omicron variant, meanwhile, has rapidly become the dominant strain in the US, with nearly three-quarters of new cases caused by the new coronavirus variant, according to data from the CDC.

On Sunday, Fauci said on ABC's "This Week" that he doesn't "foresee" lockdowns returning in the US, despite the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.