California doctor not worried about a 4th wave explains why you shouldn't be, either

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- UCSF's Dr. Monica Gandhi isn't worried about a fourth coronavirus surge and she doesn't think you should be, either.

The doctor's reassurances come as some states are seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. On Monday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said she had a "recurring feeling" or "impending doom."

Gandhi told ABC7 News Monday she thought those comments were "a little alarmist." On Tuesday she went even further: "I can almost bet anything that we're not going to have a fourth surge in this state."

Why so confident? Gandhi lists three major reasons. (See her full explanation in the video at the top of this story.)

First, California is doing a decent job at rolling out vaccine doses quickly, she says. Statewide, nearly 40% of people over 16 have gotten at least one dose. About 20% are fully vaccinated.

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Second, California isn't calling off all COVID-19 restrictions yet, like Texas did a few weeks ago.

"We're peeling off restrictions, but we're not peeling them off completely," Gandhi said. "We're not going hog wild, no one's going crazy. We're all slowly going back to reduced capacity, we're still masking. It's a prudent lifting of restrictions."

Finally, the vaccines work.

"We have a final solution," she said. "Vaccines are not one more tool in the tool box... this is the solution."

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