WATCH: Dr. Fauci says we’re ‘at least halfway through’ or in ‘the bottom of the sixth inning’ in the fight against COVID

In an interview on CNN, the chief medical advisor gave viewers an idea of how far along the country would be if the COVID-19 pandemic was a baseball game.

By the end of the calendar year "2021, and the first quarter of 2022, we'll be able to vaccinate children of any age", said Dr. Fauci, speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

"You and I are Major League Baseball fans", replied Blitzer. "What inning are we in, as far as this COVID pandemic is concerned?" A typical baseball game lasts for nine innings, but if the score is tied, extra innings are added.

"We're at least halfway through", Dr. Fauci responded, "so we're in the late innings." "It's not over", he continued. "That's the thing we've really gotta get people to appreciate. We're going in the right direction; we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but now's not a time to declare victory, it's a time to get more and more people vaccinated."

Pushing for Dr. Fauci to play along with his baseball analogy, Blitzer asked once again, "So you think the seventh, the eighth inning, late innings? What inning are you talking about?"

"How 'bout the bottom of the sixth", Dr. Fauci replied.

Sports aside, Dr. Fauci's comments suggest that the United States is on its way to conquering the pandemic, but should be cautious about declaring victory prematurely.