♪ ♪ ♪
WE'RE BACK HERE WITH DR. ANTHONY FAUCI.
WELL, YOU'RE AMERICA'S DOCTOR, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ONGOING PANDEMIC.
SOME OF MY STAFF HERE. SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LIKE
TO GIVE YOU SOME RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS AND GET RAPID-FIRE
ANSWERS. IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE CALLING
"DOCTOR'S ORDERS." DR. FAUCI, CAN YOU GET A FLU
SHOT AND BOOSTER SHOT AT THE SAME TIME?
>> YES. THAT'S PRETTY GOOD.
>> Stephen: SHORT ANSWER: HOW OFTEN WILL WE BE GETTING
BOOSTED, FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES?
>> WE DON'T KNOW THAT. YOU HAVE TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST.
WE WOULD HOPE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THAT, BUT IF WE HAVE
TO DO THAT, AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS, UNTIL THIS GETS
SO LOW IT'S ESSENTIALLY A NONENTITY, IT IS CONCEIVABLE
THAT WE MIGHT HAVE TO GET A REGULAR BOOSTER, SIMILAR TO WHAT
WE DO WITH INFLUENZA. >> Stephen: OKAY, HOW CAN
PEOPLE SAFELY GATHER FOR THE HOLIDAYS?
>> WELL, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAYS.
FIRST OF ALL, GET VACCINATED, CERTAINLY OF ENCOURAGE THE
PEOPLE-- YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FRIENDS WHO YOU'RE GOING TO BE
INTERACTING WITH AT THE HOLIDAYS-- TO GET VACCINATED.
>> Stephen: HOW DO YOU CONVINCE FRIENDS OR FAMILY
MEMBERS WHO WILL NOT GET VACCINATED?
LOVE VERY MUCH, AND WHO I DO LET'S SAY I HAVE SOMEONE I NOT-- I
DO NOT JUDGE THEM FOR NOT DOING THIS, BUT I WORRY THEM EYE WORRY
SO MUCH ABOUT THEM FOR NOT DOING IT.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW THEY HAVE OTHER CONDITIONS, AND IF THEY
GOT IT THIS WOULD BE TERRIBLE FOR THEM.
WHAT IS THE ARGUMENT HERE? THE ARGUMENT IS YOU LOOK AT THE
DATA, AND THE DATA ARE ABSOLUTELY CRYSTAL CLEAR.
>> Stephen: IS THE SCIENCE IN ON WHETHER THE VACCINE IS SAFE?
>> OH, WOULD YOU WANT A DOUBT. IT'S BEEN GIVEN TO BILLIONS OF
PEOPLE IN BILLIONS OF DOSES. THERE'S NO DOUBT-- SAFETY IS OFF
THE TABLE, NO DOUBT IT'S SAFE. THE IMPORTANT POINT IS IF YOU
REASON WITH PEOPLE AND SHOW THE STATISTICS OF THE NUMBER OF
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS AMONG UNVACCINATED PEOPLE
COMPARED TO PEOPLE WHO ARE VACCINATED AND UP TO DATE ON
THEIR BOOSTER, THE CURVES GO HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATH FOR
PEOPLE UNVACCINATED, HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATHS FOR
PEOPLE WHO ARE VACCINATED. TO HAVE PEOPLE JUST LOOK AT THE
DATA. THAT'S NOT GOING TO CONVINCE
EVERYBODY, BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO AT LEAST PUT A LITTLE BIT STOCK IN
DATA, THEY SHULD UNDERSTAND THAT.
>> Stephen: WHEN SHOULD WE STILL BE WEARING MASKS?
>> YOU KNOW, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE LEVEL OF DYNAMICS OF
VIRUS IN THE COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, THE C.D.C. SHOWS IN
THEIR COLOR CODING WHETHER IT'S HIGH, MEDIUM, OR LOW.
WHERE THE LEVEL OF VIRUS IS IF YOU ARE IN A SITUATION REALLY
VERY LOW FROM THE STANDPOINT OF CIRCULATION IN THE COMMUNITY,
THEN YOU COULD PROBABLY GET AWAY AND POSSIBLY WEAR A MASK IF YOU
ARE A PERSON AT A HIGH RISK. IT REALLY DEPENDS.
IF YOU ARE IN AN AREA WHERE THERE'S VIRUS THAT THE DYNAMICS
IS RED HOOT, THEN WHEN YOU'RE IN AN INDOOR CONGREGATE SETTING,
RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT WEARING YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THE C.D.C. A
MASK. >> Stephen: IF YOU ARE
INFECTED IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP AVOID CHANCES OF
LONG COVID? >> FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU GET
VACCINATED AND THEN WIND UP GETTING INFECTED, THE DATA
LIKELIHOOD OF YOUR GETTING CLEARLY SHOW NOW, THE LONG COVID IS
MARKEDLY DIMINISHED COMPARED TO AN UNVACCINATED PERSON.
SO WHAT YOU CAN PREEMPTIVELY DO IS GET VACCINATED.
HOPEFULLY YOU WON'T GET INFECTED.
BUT IF YOU DO, YOU'LL DIMINISH THE CHANCE OF GETTING LONG
COVID. >> Stephen: AND HOW MUCH DO
YOU ENJOY TESTIFYING BEFORE CONGRESS?
>> OH, IT'S A LOT OF FUN.
GEOGRAPHIC MADE A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT YOU, AND I WAS HONORED
WHEN I HEARD THAT A CLIP OF US TALKING ABOUT YOU WAS INCLUDED
IN IT. I'D LIKE TO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW
TO SEE WHAT WE CONTRIBUTED TO THE NARRATIVE WHILE OUR COUNTRY
WAS FACING THIS TIME OF CRISIS. JIM.
>> "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE, THERE'S A PETITION TO MAKE YOU SEXIEST MAN
ALIVE BECAUSE PEOPLE SAY BRAINS ARE SEXY.
I'M WONDERING HOW YOU'RE-- WHAT YOUR FAMILY THINKS ABOUT ALL OF
THIS. >> IT'S REALLY KIND OF CRAZY.
WE TRY NOT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT AND JUST FOCUS ON THE
RESPONSIBILITY AND THE JOB THAT WE HAVE.
THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, NOT THAT OTHER STUFF.
>> Stephen: THAT IS SO HUMBLE. AND SO SEXY.
( LAUGHTER )
OH, YEAH! THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF
JUST TRY TO STAY SIX FEET HOTNESS! AWAY.
( APPLAUSE )
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, EVERYBODY.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO DON'T GO ANYWHERE. MISS
THIS.