Amna: President Biden today
marked the U.S. Approaching one
million lives lost due to the
pandemic.
Worldwide, the pandemic has
claimed more than six million
lives.
The world health organization
estimates the real toll is
significantly higher, 15 million
deaths directly or indirectly
tied to the virus.
The white house lowered flags to
half-staff and members of
congress held a moment of
silence.
The president delivered his
remarks at a global pandemic
summit today, calling on
congress to pass stalled funding
for more covid-19 relief in the
U.S. And around the globe.
Pres. Biden: Today, we mark a
tragic milestone here in the
United States.
One million covid deaths.
One million empty chairs around
the family dinner table.
Each irreplaceable,
irreplaceable losses.
Each leaving behind a family, a
community forever changed
because of this pandemic.
We all must do more.
Must honor those we have lost by
doing everything we can to
prevent as many deaths as
possible.
Amna: Let's get some perspective
on this enormous toll and where
things stand.
For that, I am joined by Dr.
Anthony Fauci, president Biden's
chief medical advisor.
Dr. Fauci, welcome back to the
"Newshour."
This is a once unfathomable
number, one million lives lost.
You see this reaction from the
president, members of congress
marking the day, but we're
marking this moment without a
national day of mourning or a
place to put our shared national
grief.
What does that say to you about
the pandemic and the toll it's
taken on this country?
Dr. Fauci: Well, it's terribly
tragic.
I mean, the idea of one million
deaths in an outbreak that is
historic in nature, we've had
nothing like this in well over
104 years.
One of the parts about it that
adds to the tragedy, is that
many of those deaths were
avoidable, avoidable if people
had been vaccinated.
It's estimated that if people
had been vaccinated to a much
greater extent right now that
vaccines would have avoided at
least a quarter of those deaths,
namely about 250,000.
So the tragedy of the deaths and
the losses that the president
spoke about today, at the
conference, are very, very
clear.
It becomes even more poignant to
know that we could have avoided
many of those if we had had more
people gotten vaccinated and
Amna: Was this the worst-case
scenario?
I mean, you and other experts
have been modeling this out from
the beginning.
I know those estimates have
changed over time.
One million.
Did you expect we would get
here?
Dr. Fauci: No, I did not.
At the time, quite a while ago
in the early phases of the
outbreak, I was wanting people
that we could get up to 200,000
deaths and I was criticized by
many people as being too
pessimistic.
And look at that.
We have five times that higher
level that I said, and we still
not through this, this is
terribly tragic.
And I would hope that the
realization of this and the
commemoration of this today as
articulated by the president
would get us to appreciate that
there are so many things that we
can and should do, to make sure
that this does not go on.
A lot of that's going to require
resources that we're going to
need to continue the vaccination
program, to develop better drugs
so that when people do get
infected, we can prevent them
from progressing to
hospitalization, severe disease,
and death.
Amna: Let me ask you about what
we're seeing across the country
because I travel quite a bit,
when you're out and about I have
to tell you, they're in much of
the country.
It's like there is no pandemic,
you know, when states were
rolling back and ask mandates,
once the federal transportation
mask mandate was struck down,
there's a sense that the
administration sort of said,
okay, do what you want, wear a
mask if you want, get vaccinated
if you want.
I'm curious, what more do you
think the administration could
be doing right now?
Dr. Fauci: Well, it's doing what
we're doing.
We are pushing very hard for
people to get vaccinated with
developing and making available
in a much easier way.
Drugs that can be given when
people are infected to protect
them from progressing on to
severe disease.
I mean, we're talking about the
fact that we need to utilize
much more -- we're making
paxlovid, which is a very good
drug that can diminish by up to
90% the likelihood that you'll
wind up in a hospital, we're
making that much, much more
widely available throughout the
country.
And we're also putting a big
deal of work on trying to get
better boosters.
We're doing studies right now to
optimize the boosters that we
ultimately will need as we enter
the fall and coming winter
season.
There's a lot that we're doing.
Amna: But is there anything else
you could be doing more right
now?
I mean, I ask that because it
seems as if people heard you
say, when you were previously on
the show a few weeks ago, we're
moving out of the pandemic
phase.
I know you clarified those
remarks, to then say, well,
we're out of this one phase, the
pandemic is not over.
And they now hear the
administration warning there
could be 100 million new
infections this fall and it
feels like a bit of whiplash in
the messaging.
Dr. Fauci: Well, let's try to
own whiplash that this pandemic
is not over.
And if we if we, you know, bring
down our guard and not do the
things we need to do, forget
about getting people vaccinated,
forget about getting people
boosted, we can get ourselves
into the same trouble we were
several months ago.
So when I was on the show with
Judy, some time ago, I said the
fulminant acute phase of the
pandemic where we're having
900,000 cases a day, 10,000
hospitalizations a day and 3000
deaths per day, that's not where
we are right now.
But with the resurgence of
cases, we could be heading in
that direction.
And that's the reason why we
can't let our guard down.
And I talk specifically about
vulnerable people, about the
elderly, about those with
underlying conditions.
We've got to make sure we don't
forget about them.
We shouldn't forget about
anybody in the population, but
particularly the vulnerable
people who if they get infected,
are more likely to get a severe
outcome.
Amna: So when you talk about the
need for funding for additional
resources for those mitigation
measures, moving ahead, let's
get specific.
If that money does not come
through, what kind of choices
will you have to make, will
medical professionals have to
make, does it mean that everyone
who wants a booster won't be
able to get one?
Everyone who's uninsured won't
be able to get treatment?
Dr. Fauci: The answer to that is
yes to both of them.
First of all, we won't have
enough antivirals, we won't be
able to develop newer and better
antivirals.
We won't be able to have a
booster for everyone, and we
will not be able to get the best
possible boosters.
We have studies right now that
are lined up to try and figure
out what the most appropriate
booster will be for the fourth
shot that likely people will
need as we get into the fall.
If we don't get the resources
that we asked for, we're not
going to be able to do that.
Amna: So here's the pushback to
that, which is billions have
already been spent in covid
response and mitigation and yet
still, we have reached one
million deaths.
So what leads you to believe
billions more would prevent
additional deaths?
Dr. Fauci: Well, I'm sorry.
I think that's a spurious
argument.
We have a very, very challenging
outbreak here.
The billions that was put in
have saved millions of lives,
and more that will be put in
will continue to save many, many
lives.
I don't think it's a really
valid argument to say you put a
lot of money in and a lot of
people still died so why put
money in?
I'd have to reject that
argument.
There is a threat and a
likelihood that we'll see a
surge as we get into the fall in
the winter.
So we've got to be prepared.
And we've got to be prepared
with vaccinations, with boosters
with optimizing the therapy, and
that's what I mean when we say
we can't leave our guard down
even though right at this moment
we're not in the so-called
fulminant phase of the outbreak.
We are still in the middle of
the pandemic.
Amna: That is Dr. Anthony Fauci,
president Biden's chief medical
adviser.
Dr. Fauci, always good to have
you.
Thank you.
Dr. Fauci: Thank you for having