♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY.
WE'RE BACK HERE WITH DR. ANTHONY FAUCI.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD, IF YOU COULD, DO DIFFERENTLY ABOUT
THE LAST YEAR?
AND I DON'T MEAN ABOUT KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW ABOUT THE
VIRUS OR ITS, YOU KNOW, AEROSOLIZED SPREAD OR SOMETHING,
BUT JUST SOMETHING YOU WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY NOW THAT YOU SAW HOW
AMERICA REACTED OR FOR ANY LEVEL?
>> YEAH, YOU HAVE TO SAY-- AND I KNOW YOU ARE INDICATING DON'T GO
THERE-- BUT YOU WOULD HAVE TO SAY, WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH AN
EVOLVING OUTBREAK, WHERE YOU KNOW NOTHING FROM THE BEGINNING,
AND EACH WEEK AND MONTH THAT GOES BY, YOU LEARN MORE AND
MORE, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES-- WHICH IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT--
IS TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT A POLICY OR A RECOMMENDATION WHEN
YOU DON'T HAVE COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE.
AND THEN WHEN YOU MONTHS LATER KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW, YOU SAY, YOU
KNOW, IF I KNEW THAT BACK THEN, I REALLY WOULD HAVE ACTED OR
SPOKEN OR RECOMMENDED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE IS THAT WE DID NOT KNOW FROM THE GET-GO
THAT THIS VIRUS WAS EXTREMELY UNIQUE IN THAT MANY OF THE
PEOPLE WHO WERE INFECTED HAD NO SYMPTOMS, AND A SUBSTANTIAL OF
PORTION, UP TO HALF OF THE PEOPLE WHO TRANSMIT VIRUS,
TRANSMIT IT WHEN THEY HAVE NO SYMPTOMS.
EITHER THEY'LL NEVER GET SYMPTOMS OR THEY'RE IN THE
PRESYMPTOMATIC STAGE.
IF WE HAD KNOWN THAT IN THE BEGINNING, I THINK WE WOULD HAVE
BEEN MUCH, MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE IN SHUTTING THINGS DOWN.
BECAUSE UNDER THE RADAR SCREEN, UNTIL WE REALIZED IT, THERE WERE
A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SPREADING IT IN AN INSIDIOUS
WAY, WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT-- NOT DELIBERATELY, BUT WITHOUT
EVEN KNOWING IT.
AS SOON AS WE KNEW THAT, THEN IT BECAME CLEAR WE WERE DEALING
WITH A VERY, VERY FORMIDABLE VIRUS.
>> Stephen: NOW, AS I SAID, AMERICA'S DOCTOR.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE I GET EVERYONE'S ANSWERS HERE.
CAN YOU GIVE US RAPID FIRE ANSWERS IN A SEGMENT WE ARE
CALLING, "DOCTOR'S ORDERS."
NUMBER ONE, IF YOU'VE BEEN VACCINATED, CAN YOU GIVE THE
VIRUS TO OTHERS?
AND SHOULD YOU STILL WEAR A MASK?
>> YOU CAN GIVE IT TO OTHERS.
YOU SHOULD WEAR A MASK.
BUT RECENT DATA ARE INDICATING THAT THE LEVEL OF VIRUS IN YOUR
NASOPHARYNX, IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, IS EXTREMELY LOW.
AND I THINK IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS FROM NOW I MIGHT MODIFY
THAT STATEMENT AND SAY IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY UNUSUAL THAT YOU
WOULD TRANSMIT IT.
BUT RIGHT NOW, JUST TO BE CAREFUL, WEAR A MASK.
>> Stephen: SHOULD WE EVER SHAKE HANDS AGAIN?
>> ( LAUGHS )
YOU KNOW I THINK THE ANSWER IS A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO
WANT TO SHAKE HANDS, BUT I THINK HUMAN NATURE PEOPLE WILL GET
BACK TO THAT.
>> Stephen: WHAT ARE THE C.D.C. GUIDELINES FOR
VACCINATING PEOPLE?
IF I GET THE VACCINE, CAN I HIT THE CLUB TWO WEEKS AFTER I GET
THE SHOT?
>> NO, YOU SHOULDN'T HIT THE CLUBS UNTIL WE GET THE LEVEL OF
VIRUS DOWN SO LOW THAT THERE'S NO THREAT TO HIT THE CLUBS.
>> Stephen: IF SOMEBODY HAS ALREADY HAD THE VIRUS, SHOULD
THEY STILL GET VACCINATED?
>> ABSOLUTELY, YES.
>> Stephen: CAN WE STILL USE "I'M QUARANTINING," AS AN EXCUSE
TO GET OUT OF PLANS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF, EVEN
WHEN THINGS GO BACK TO NORMAL?
>> ( LAUGHS )
I THINK YOU CAN, IF YOU WANT TO, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF
TIME SOON.
>> Stephen: AND THIS IS THE UNIVERSAL QUESTION THAT EVERYONE
IN AMERICA, REALLY EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS ASKING: WHEN CAN
LATE-NIGHT HOSTS HAVE AUDIENCES BACK?
>> YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REASONABLY SOON.
I THINK WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT IS A GRADUAL
GETTING AUDIENCES BACK-- NOT NECESSARILY FULL CAPACITY-- AS
WE GET INTO THE EARLY FALL.
IF WE CAN GET THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF PEOPLE VACCINATED BY
THEN, I THINK WE COULD START TO TAKE THOSE STEPS TOWARDS
NORMALITY, WHICH, IN MY MIND, MEANS GETTING AUDIENCES, AT
LEAST PARTIALLY CAPACITY.
>> Stephen: DR. FAUCI, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN.
WE'RE DO IT MORE FREQUENTLY THAN ONCE A DECADE, I HOPE.
>> THANK YOU, STEPHEN.
I APPRECIATE YOU HAVING ME.
>> Stephen: DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, EVERYBODY.
WHEN WE COME BACK, AN APPEARANCE FROM THE PRESIDENT, VICE
PRESIDENT, AND ALL THE BIGGEST NAMES IN HOLLYWOOD.
NO BIG DEAL.
STICK AROUND.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪