Fauci noted that he had spoken with Biden's incoming chief of staff Ronald Klain and he plans to meet with other members of Biden's team via video link.

"They have not been, shall we say, substantive about where we're going. But enough to say 'hang in there,'" Fauci told CBS during an interview.

"Today will be the first day where there will be substantive discussions about the transition between me and the Biden team," he added.

The US has registered an avalanche of new coronavirus cases in recent weeks and the number of people hospitalised has reached an all-time high, surpassing 100,000, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

The spike in cases comes even as prospects for the imminent roll-out of a vaccine become more realistic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it expects one or more vaccines to be available by the end of the year.

Former president Barack Obama has said that he would be willing to take a vaccine publicly to demonstrate to the public that he believes in its safety.

"If Anthony Fauci tells me this vaccine is safe and can immunise you from getting COVID, absolutely I'm going to take it," Obama said in an interview with SiriusXM radio.

"I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed just so people know I trust this science."

Other former US Presidents, Republican George W Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton, have also said that they would volunteer to be filmed receiving COVID-19 vaccines, according to CNN.

Australian Associated Press