THE coronavirus pandemic could end as early as June, Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday, despite the nation's top health experts warning of a second wave in the fall.

People who have already contracted the disease will likely be immune to it in the future, which means the US will be in a "better place" by fall, according to Pence.

"There is a high likelihood that if you've had this coronavirus in the past, that you will enjoy some immunity from it in the future," he told Rush Limbaugh during an appearance on his radio show.

"It's among the reasons why our nation, should the coronavirus reemerge at any time in the future…our nation will be in a much better place."

"I truly do believe…that if current trend lines hold, that by early June, we could largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us, and begin to see our nation open up and go back to work."

But Pence cautioned that his estimate is dependent on Americans continuing to practice mitigation methods by staying at home.

He urged Americans to continue practicing social distancing and avoiding gatherings larger than 10 people.

Listen to your local and state authorities, Pence said, "because as we track this data, state by state, county by county, we're getting there."

Pence's prediction comes  days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield warned about a harsher wave of coronavirus in the fall because of a coinciding influenza outbreak.

Although Donald Trump complained about Redfield being misquoted by the Washington Post, the CDC director confirmed that his words were true.

Dr. Anthony Fauci affirmed Redfield's claims at Thursday's coronavirus White House presser, saying he's "convinced" a second wave of COVID-19 will hit the US this fall.

"What Dr. Redfield was saying, first of all, is that we will have coronavirus in the fall. I am convinced of that, because of the degree of transmissibility that it has, the global nature," Fauci said.

Trump tried to downplay experts' warnings the day before and said at Wednesday's briefing the virus "might not come back at all."

A new study by the Department of Homeland Security revealed Thursday that the virus can be killed by direct sunlight and disinfectants like bleach and isopropyl alcohol.

Although the discovery was new to those in the room, it wasn't new to Trump, who pointed out that he theorized the same concept once before.
"I once mentioned that maybe it does go away with light," he said.

"Maybe the fake news didn't like the suggestion that it goes away with light."

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