PEOPLE AREN’T FOLLOWING THAT LAW ENOUGH, THE RESULTS CAN BE DEADLY. HERE’S AMERICA’S DOCTOR
, AND BEFORE HE DELIVERED THE
SPECIAL COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS TO
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN,
CLASS OF 2020 AND 2021, DR
ANTHONY FAUCI SAT DOWN WITH OUR
DR FRANK MCGEORGE JOINS US LIVE
NOW TONIGHT, DOC, YOU REALLY HAD
A CHANCE TO GET CANDID WITH HIM
ABOUT HOW HE’S HANDLED THE
PANDEMIC. YEAH I SURE DID. KAREN
AND JASON. WE HAD A PRETTY WIDE
RANGING DISCUSSION AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH FROM WHAT HE FELT
WAS IMPORTANT TO IMPRESS ON THE
NEW GRADUATES TO BEING ACCUSED
OF FLIP FLOPPING HIS
RECOMMENDATIONS TO A
CONTROVERSIAL COMMENT THAT HE
RECENTLY MADE THIS MORNING. I
DON’T KNOW WHAT THE PROTOCOL IS
SO WELL, THAT’S GOOD. NICE TO
MEET YOU. AND WITH THAT, WE
BEGAN STARTING WITH A SOBERING
MESSAGE FOR THE NEW GRADUATES
STEMMING FROM THE POLITICALLY
TUMULTUOUS LANDSCAPE. HE’S
WITNESSED THE MISINFORMATION AND
DISINFORMATION THAT’S IN
SOCIETY. HAS LED TO WHAT I CALL
THE NORMALIZATION OF UNTRUTHS
WHERE THERE IS SO MUCH
PROPAGATION OF THINGS THAT ARE
OUTLANDISH THERE EITHER OUTRIGHT
LIES. THEIR CONSPIRACY THEORIES
, THEIR DISTORTIONS THAT IT
HAPPENED SO OFTEN THAT IT TENDS
TO BECOME NORMALIZED, WHEREAS 10
15 20 YEARS AGO, SOMEONE SAID
SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNTRUE AND
DISTORTED. YOU WOULD GO BACK TO
SEE MY GOD. THAT’S CRAZY. SO MY
MESSAGE TO THE GRADUATES IS THAT
IT’S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY AS THE
NEW LEADERS IN THE COUNTRY, IF
NOT THE WORLD NOT TO ACCEPT. THE
NORMALIZATION OF UNTRUTHS. HOW
DO WE AVOID PUBLIC HEALTH AND
MEDICINE BEING SO HEAVILY
POLITICIZED IN ANY FUTURE
PANDEMIC OR PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY ONE OF THE WAYS TO
AVOID THAT? IF WE POSSIBLY CAN
IS TO TRY AND FEED INTO THE
SYSTEM AS MUCH CORRECT
INFORMATION AS WE POSSIBLY CAN,
BECAUSE IT’S VERY INTERESTING
THAT THE PEOPLE THAT TWEET FOUR
CITIES SEEM TO HAVE MORE ENERGY
OF TWEETING FALSITIES THAN THE
PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT
TRUE THINGS. YEAH THE TROLLS ARE
DEFINITELY OUT THERE PUSHING
THEIR AGENDA HARDER. THEY REALLY
ARE. THERE ARE MUCH MORE
ENERGETIC GROUP TALK ABOUT THE
DIFFICULTY OF COMMUNICATING
UNCERTAINTY. AND BY THAT, I MEAN
, UM YOU’VE BEEN BASICALLY
ACCUSED OF FLIP FLOPPING ON YOUR
POSITIONS. CAN YOU CLARIFY WHY
SOME OF THOSE NUANCED OPINIONS
ARE REALLY IMPORTANT? WHAT I CAN
SAY IT’S A GOOD THING I HAVE
FLIP FLOPPED, AND THE REASON IS
BECAUSE SCIENCE AND THE
EVOLUTION OF THIS OUTBREAK
CHANGES. IF YOU ARE BEING TRUE
TO THE FACTS AND TRUE TO THE
DATA, YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO
CHANGE THAT’S NOT FLIP FLOPPING
THAT’S GETTING MOVING ALONG WITH
THE SCIENCE THE WAY THIS
OUTBREAK IS MOVING ALONG. AND
IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE. HOW THE
GENERAL PUBLIC DOESN’T FULLY
UNDERSTAND THAT. SO WHEN PEOPLE
ACCUSE YOU OF NOT BEING
CONSISTENT IN YOUR RESPONSE TO
YOUR RECOMMENDATION, AND THE
REASON IS BECAUSE WE’RE DEALING
WITH A MOVING TARGET, YOU
RECENTLY SAID ON PBS NEWS HOUR
THAT WE WERE OUT OF THE PANDEMIC
PHASE, AND THEN YOU ESSENTIALLY
, YOU KNOW, UPDATED THAT TO SAY
THAT WE WERE OUT OF THE FULL
BLOWN PANDEMIC PHASE NOW. YOU
RECEIVED A FAIR AMOUNT OF
PUSHBACK ON THAT STATEMENT. IT
FEELS TO ME LIKE THERE ARE MANY
PEOPLE THAT ARE BASICALLY AFRAID
TO BE OPTIMISTIC. GOING FORWARD.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
WELL I WAS BEING QUITE REALISTIC
, AND I COULD STILL STAND BY
WHAT I SAID. I MEAN, I PROBABLY
COULD HAVE USED A BETTER WORDING
SO THAT IT WOULD NOT BE
MISUNDERSTOOD BY SOME PEOPLE.
BUT WHAT I MEANT IS THAT WE’RE
NOT IN THE FOAM IN THAT THE
EXPLOSIVE PHASE OF THE PANDEMIC.
GRETA PHASE WHERE IT’S MUCH,
MUCH LOWER. I GUESS THE FINAL
QUESTION YOU HAVE ADVISED
PRESIDENTS FROM BOTH PARTIES FOR
DECADES, YOU’VE RECEIVED THE
PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM
FROM GEORGE BUSH. YOU HAVE EVEN
BEEN PARODIED BY BRAD PITT ON
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE GOOD
EVENING. I’M DR ANTHONY FAUCI.
ARE YOU EVER STARSTRUCK OR
IMPRESSED BY ANYONE ANYMORE? THE
QUESTION WHAT YOU MEAN BY
IMPRESSED? I MEAN, I’M NOT
AWESTRUCK BY ANYBODY BECAUSE,
YOU KNOW, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME
WITH PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED
STATES, SO THAT’S BUT I HAVE A
GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT FOR A
NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE FIELD
WHO ARE DOING THINGS. MANY OF
THEM ARE UNHERALDED THAT PEOPLE
DON’T KNOW OF. THAT I KNOW I
HAPPEN TO COME ACROSS AND
REALIZE THEY’RE DOING THINGS MAY
BE UNDER THE RADAR SCREEN. NOT
MUCH PUBLICITY THAT IS MAKING AN
IMPACT. AND BY THE WAY, THE
ENTIRE 20 MINUTE INTERVIEW IS
ACTUALLY POSTED ON
CLICKONDETROIT.COM. DR FAUCI
ACTUALLY GAVE MANY OTHER REALLY
INTERESTING AREA ANSWERS THAT WE
JUST DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO INCLUDE
HERE BACK TO YOU. YEAH AND I
WOULD SUGGEST TO PEOPLE THAT YOU
KNOW IF YOU WANT TO HEAR HIM IN
HIS FULL CONTEXT, THAT’S ALSO
IMPORTANT TOO. AND OBVIOUSLY YOU
GUYS BAND A LITTLE BIT. YOU’RE
BOTH DOCTORS. BUT WHAT’S THE
OTHER INTEREST YOU GUYS SHARE?
WELL YOU KNOW, AS IT TURNS OUT,
HE AND I BOTH ENJOY FISHING WHEN
HE HAS TIME, WHICH ISN’T OFTEN
THESE DAYS. HE ACTUALLY FISHES.
THE POTOMAC RIVER ACTUALLY
INVITED HIM OUT TO GET SOME WALL
IN THE ST CLAIR RIVER WHERE I
FISH, BUT HE WAS A LITTLE BUSY
THAT MORNING DIDN’T HAVE A
CHANCE TO GO. A LITTLE SPEECH
TO, YOU KNOW, TENS OF THOUSANDS