WE’LL BATTLE BACK AND ONCE WE DO WE’LL BE BETTER THAN EVER.
JOINING ME NOW DR. ANTHONY
FAUCI, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL
INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY INFECTIOUS
DISEASES AND A MEMBER OF THE
WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK
FORCE.
FORCE. SO LET’S JUST START IN JANUARY
OR FEBRUARY.
OR FEBRUARY. WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT YOU
REALIZED THAT THIS WAS A MAJOR
PROBLEM BECAUSE I REMEMBER IN
LATE JANUARY YOU WERE TELLING
PEOPLE EARLY FEBRUARY THIS
WASSING NOTHING TO BE CONCERNED
FOR MOST AMERICANS AND AMERICANS
FOR MOST PART WERE NOT AT RISK.
>> IT WAS IN JANUARY AT A TIME
WHEN THE CHINESE WERE SAYING
FIRST THAT IT WAS GOING FROM
ANIMAL TO A HUMAN.
AND THEN WHEN THERE WERE HUMAN
CASES THAT LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE
TRANSMITTED THAT IT WAS VERY
INEFFICIENTLY TRANSMITTED IT WAS
AT THAT TIME IN, I BELIEVE,
MID-JANUARY THAT WE MADE THE
STATEMENT THAT IF, IN FACT,
THAT’S TRUE, THAT THIS IS MOSTLY
ANIMAL TO HUMAN AND WE’RE NOT IN
CHINA AND IT IS VERY
INEFFICIENTLY SPREAD THAT, IN
FACT, IT MAY NOT BE SOMETHING
THAT IS OF A MAJOR THREAT
OUTSIDE OF CHINA.
WHEN IT BECAME CLEAR THAT NOT
ONLY IS IT TRANSMIT EFFICIENTLY
FROM HUMAN TO HUMAN, BUT THAT IT
WAS VERY, VERY CONTAGIOUS IN THE
SENSE OF EASILY TRANSMITTIBLE,
AND IT ALSO HAD A HIGH DEGREE OF
MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY, AT THAT
POINT IT BECAME VERY CLEAR THAT
WE WERE IN FOR A PROBLEM.
BECAUSE WE WERE GETTING TRAVEL
CASES FROM CHINA.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE CUT OFF THE
CHINESE PRETTY QUICKLY, ONCE IT
SEATED IN THE COUNTRY THEN IT
DOES WHAT ANY HIGHLY
TRANSMISSIBLE VIRUS DOES --
SO THERE’S NOTHING INCONSISTENT
WITH THE INFORMATION WE HAD.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. JESSE: I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND YOU
WERE WORKING WITH THE
INFORMATION THAT WAS AVAILABLE
AT THE TIME.
AT THIS POINT DO YOU --
FEEL LIKE YOU WERE MISLED BY THE
CHINESE, DO YOU FEEL MISLED BY
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
BECAUSE YOU HAD I SAID NICE
THINGS ABOUT LEADER OF THE WORLD
HEALTH ORGANIZATION NOW IT LOOK
LIKE HE WAS NOT COMPLETELY
HONEST OR MAYBE HE WAS --
DECEIVED HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT
THAT?
THAT? >> YOU YOU KNOW I DON’T KNOW WHE
MISSTEPS WENT.
MISSTEPS WENT. ONLY THING I KNOW WITH THE END
RESULT WAS THAT EARLY ON WE DID
NOT GET CORRECT INFORMATION.
AND THE INCORRECT INFORMATION
WAS PROPAGATED RIGHT FROM THE
BEGINNING BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHEN
THE FIRST CASES CAME OUT THAT
WERE IDENTIFIED, I THINK ON
DECEMBER 31ST, IN CHINA, AND WE
BECAME AWARE OF THIS, THEY SAID
THIS WAS JUST ANIMAL TO HUMAN
PERIOD.
PERIOD. NOW WE KNOW RETROSPECTIVELY THAT
THERE WAS ONGOING TRANSMISSION
FROM HUMAN TO HUMAN IN CHINA
PROBABLY AT LEAST A FEW WEEK
BEFORE THEN.
BEFORE THEN. AND THEN WHEN WE FINALLY DID GET
THE VIRUS HERE --
IT WAS --
IT WAS -- BECAME CLEAR WHEN HE STARTED
LOOKING AT WHAT WAS GOING ON
THAT THAT WAS MISINFORMATION
RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
SO WHO’S EVER FAULTS THAT WAS,
YOU KNOW, WE’RE GOING BACK TO
TAKE A LOOK AT THAT WHEN THIS IS
ALL OVER BUT CLEARLY NOT RIGHT
INFORMATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO
US.
US. JESSE: RIGHT.
JESSE: RIGHT. SO NOW THAT WE’VE DONE THIS
ALMOST FULL SCALE NATIONAL
ECONOMIC HAD LOCKDOWN, ARE THERE
THINGS THAT CROSS YOUR MIND TO
THINK MAYBE WOULD YOU HAVE DONE
IT ANY DRCHGHTLY COULD YOU HAVE
DONE EVERYBODY UNDER 45 GO TO
WORK?
WORK? COULD YOU HAVE MAYBE DONE
REGIONAL SHUTDOWN COULD YOU HAVE
MAYBE JUST CONCENTRATED IN THE
HOT SPOTS?
HOT SPOTS? COULD YOU HAVE EVERYBODY WEAR
MASKS TO WORK OR THERE
OTHER THING THAT YOU THINK MAYBE
YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO SPARE THE
COUNTRY FROM A FULL ECONOMIC HAD
SHUTDOWN?
SHUTDOWN? >> MY ADVICE WAS THAT WE WERE
DEALING WITH A SITUATION WITH
THE TRANSMISSIBILITY WAS
EFFICIENT ENOUGH THAT WE COULD
NOT TAKE THE CHANCE THAT WE WERE
JUST LETTING PEOPLE GET INFECTED
AND THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE NO
REALLY VERY SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES
BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO WERE YOUNG
EVEN THOUGH THEY DID NOT
NECESSARILY GET ILL AT ALL,
CLEARLY WOULD BE THE VECTORS TO
TRANSMIT IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO
WERE HIGHLY VULNERABLE.
THE ELDERLY AND THOSE WITH
UNDERLYING CONDITIONS.
UNDERLYING CONDITIONS. SO ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT YOU
CAN LOOK AT IS, HOW DO YOU CUT
THAT OFF?
THAT OFF? AND THE WAY THE BEST WAY TO DO
IT IS TO HAVE A PHYSICAL
SEPARATION.
SEPARATION. THE WAY WE HAVE WITH THE
GUIDELINES THAT ARE NOW IN
EFFECT.
EFFECT. JESSE: I HAVE A VERY HIGH REGARD
FOR YOU DR. FAUCI BUT I WANT TO
BE FAIR BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME
PEOPLE WHO WERE VERY ANGRY WITH
WITH YOU WHO THINK THAT --
THIS I GUESS ADVICE TO THE
PRESIDENT TO SHUT EVERYTHING
DOWN TO CLOSE BUSINESSES HAS
REALLY COST A LOT OF PEOPLE’S
JOBS, THE LIVELIHOOD, THEIR
BUSINESSES, EVERYTHING --
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THOSE
PEOPLE?
PEOPLE? >> WELL, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY,EST
THAT VERY IS UNFORTUNATE, I
MEAN, THAT’S A CONSEQUENCE THAT
YOU HAVE TO BALANCE.
THE ATTEMPT TO SAVE AS MANY
LIVES AS YOU CAN --
WHAT IS KNOWN AS A EFFECT ON THE
ECONOMY HAD IS THE REASON WHY
RIGHT NOW WE’RE LOOKING VERY
CAREFULLY ABOUT HOW WE CAN
POSSIBLY IN A SAFE WAY REOPEN AS
THEY SAY REOPEN THE COUNTRY TO
THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES THAT
WE HAVE.
WE HAVE. WE FELT AT THE TIME AND STILL DO
NOW THAT THAT WAS THE RIGHT
THING TO DO.
COULD THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER
APPROACHES?
APPROACHES? I MEAN I’M HUMBLE ENOUGH TO KNOW
THAT MAYBE THERE COULD BE.
THAT WAS THE CHOICE WE MADE.
BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE
HAVE, ONE CAN ALWAYS SECOND
GUESS.
GUESS. BUT THAT HAPPENS.
THIS IS A SERIOUS SITUATION THAT
IS IMPACTED A LOT OF PEOPLE.
JESSE: RIGHT AND YOU BELIEVE
WE’RE AT OUR PEAK PROBABLY THIS
WEEKEND?
WEEKEND? FINGERS CROSSED HOPEFULLY --
>> I HOPE SO.
I MEAN WHAT WE’RE SEEING FOR
EXAMPLE IN A PLACE LIKE NEW
YORK, WHICH WE PREDICTED
CORRECTLY --
CORRECTLY -- THAT THIS WOULD BE A REALLY BAD
WEEK WHERE EVERY DAY THE NEXT
DAY WOULD BE MORE DEATH THAN THE
PREVIOUS DAY.
PREVIOUS DAY. BUT AS THAT WAS HAPPENING, THE
ENGINE THAT FUELED THE OUTBREAK
IN NEW YORK MAINLY NUMBER OF NEW
CASES THAT LEAD TO
HOSPITALIZATIONS THAT LEAD TO
INTENSIVE CARE, THAT LEAD TO
DEATH, CLEARLY ARE SIGNIFICANTLY
LESS THIS WEEK THAN THEY WERE
THE PREVIOUS WEEK.
SO IT SEEMS ALMOST A PARADOX BUT
REALLY ISN’T AT THE SAME TIME
THAT THE DEATH CONTINUE TO GO
UP.
UP. WE’RE HAVING INDICATIONS THAT WE
ARE REACHING THAT PEAK THAT APEX
AND WE’LL START TO COME DOWN.
IF, IN FACT, WE SEE IT ACT THE
WAY IN CHINA, THAT DECLINE WILL
BE VERY STEEP SO WE MAY GO FROM
A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF DEATH
EVEN MORE THAN WE’VE SEEN TO A
SITUATION WHERE THERE’S HAD A
RADICAL DROP IN THE NUMBER OF
DEATHS.
DEATHS. WHICH WILL BE THE LAST TO SEE --
BUT THE HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE
ALREADY INDICATING THAT WE’RE
GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
>> ALL RIGHT WE CAN ONLY HOPE