Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted Thursday that “open season” on COVID-19 vaccinations could begin in April.

In an interview on NBC’s “Today” show, Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease scientist, said he anticipates that by April the U.S. will have advanced beyond restricting vaccinations to designated higher-risk groups such as the elderly and health care workers and will begin administering shots to the rest of the general public. 

“I would imagine by the time we get to April, that will be what I would call, for better wording, open season. Virtually everybody and anybody in any category could start to get vaccinated,” said Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 

Fauci, however, said it would take “several more months” — into the middle or end of the summer — to inoculate the overwhelming majority of Americans that is needed to achieve herd immunity and begin a return to life as normal.

Fauci said the pace of vaccinations has picked up considerably over the past month and that he expects further acceleration. He said the number of available doses should be enough by March and April to allow for more mass vaccinations. 

“I’m fairly certain that as we get into and towards the end of April, you’ll see some of the implementation of … really pharmacies, community vaccine centers, mobile units really stepping up the pace of vaccinations,” Fauci said.

As of Wednesday, nearly 33.8 million people had received at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly 10.5 million had received two doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, Fauci said he’s taking the coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom “very seriously” but added, “I wouldn’t say I’m worried about.”

He said the vaccines, both the ones that have already been approved in the U.S. and the ones likely to be authorized in the coming weeks and months, appear to be effective against the strain, which is more highly contagious. Fauci said the U.S. can limit the variant’s spread by stepping up public health measures — such as mask wearing and social distancing — and vaccinate as many people as it can expeditiously.