A VACCINE TO MAKE ANY IMPACT.
I AM JOINED NOW BY DR. ANTHONY
FAUCI.
I FEEL LIKE QUOTING DUCKICKINS,
IT’S THE BEST OF TIME AND THE
WORST OF TIMES, DR. FAUCI.
THE VACCINES ARE HERE, AND ON
ONE HAND I CAN FEEL THE
EXCITEMENT IN YOUR REMARKS
YESTERDAY, AND YET AS YOU WERE
TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE THIS IS
NOT THE TIME TO SORT OF RELAX.
I HAVE TO ASK YOU THIS, WHY WAS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19th, THE
FIRST PUBLIC BRIEFING FROM THE
TASK FORCE IN MONTHS?
>> YOU KNOW, CHUCK, I CAN’T
EXPLAIN THAT.
I DON’T MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
WE MEET IN A REGULARLY -- WE HAD
THE FIRST PUBLIC DISCUSSION, YOU
KNOW, AND I CAN’T TELL YOU WHY.
I THINK VERY LIKELY IT WAS A
CONFLUENCE OF A COUPLE THINGS
THAT THE VICE PRESIDENT AND THE
TASK FORCE WANTED TO MAKE
APPARENT, AND I THINK YOU VERY
APTLY SAID IT, PART OF IT WAS
THE BEST OF TIMES AND PART WAS
THE WORST OF TIMES, AND WE’RE
CLEARLY INVOLVED NOW IN A VERY
DIFFICULT SURGE HERE THROUGHOUT
THE UNITED STATES AND EVEN
GLOBALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
NUMBER OF INFECTIONS THAT ARE
GOING UP, AND THEY ARE REALLY
BREAKING RECORDS IN THE
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND NUMBERS OF
INFECTIONS PER DAY, AND THAT’S
THE THING THAT IS THE WORST OF
TERMS AND THE BEST OF TERMS IS
WE HAVE VERY, VERY PROMISING
INFORMATION REGARDING AT LEAST
TWO VACCINE CANDIDATES THAT HAVE
A VERY HIGH DEGREE OF EFFICACY,
AND THE POINT I WAS TRYING TO
MAKE AT THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS
BRIEFING WAS TO GET PEOPLE TO
UNDERSTAND THAT WE REALLY GOT TO
PAY ATTENTION TO THE PUBLIC
HEALTH MEASURES THAT WE ARE NOT
UNIFORMLY IMPLEMENTING
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
IT’S DESPERATE.
SOME ARE DOING IT AND SOME ARE
NOT.
THEY ARE VERY SIMPLE.
THE WEARING OF MASKS AND THE
PHYSICAL DISTANCING AND THE
AVOIDING CROWD SESSIONS,
ACTIVITIES, AND PARTICULARLY
INDOORS, TRYING WHERE POSSIBLE
TO DO THINGS OUTDOORS AS OPPOSED
TO INDOORS, AND THE FREQUENT
WASHING OF HANDS.
THEY SOUND SO SIMPLE, CHUCK, BUT
THEY DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THE POINT I WAS MAKING IS THAT
WE ARE IN A VERY SERIOUS
SITUATION, AND WE CAN DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
POINT NUMBER ONE.
POINT NUMBER TWO IS THAT HELP IS
ON THE WAY.
TRADITIONALLY AND HISTORICALLY,
HIGHLY EFFECTIVE VACCINES HAVE
CRUSHED EPIDEMICS LIKE SMALLPOX
AND POLIO AND THE MEAND THE MEAS
AND WE CAN DO THAT AND SO THAT
SHOULD BE AN INCENTIVE TO HAVE
US DOUBLE DOWN EVEN MORE WITH
THE PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES UNTIL
WE GET THE HELP THAT IS ON THE
WAY, AND THAT’S THE POINT I WAS
TRYING TO MAKE.
RECOGNIZE THE DIFFICULTY AND THE
SITUATION WE’RE IN.
FOLLOW THE PUBLIC HEALTH
MEASURES AND BE PREPARED FOR
SERIOUS HELP THAT WE WILL GET
FROM THE VACCINES.
>> I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHEN WE ARE GOING TO PLATEAU
BEFORE MARCH.
I SAY THIS BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT
THE NUMBERS NOW AND YOU SEE
WE’RE NOT SEEING A BEND YET.
WE HAVE THANKSGIVING COMING UP.
I HAVE READ THAT STTSA EXPECT 6
MILLION PEOPLE TO GO THROUGH
TRAVELING DURING THE HOLIDAY FOR
THIS, WHICH SEEMS BONKERSERS TO
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THE SIDE
COMMENT, AND THERE’S NO EVIDENCE
THAT WE ARE MITIGATING A THING.
WHERE DOES THIS CASE COUNTESS
ESCALATION STOP?
ARE WE REALLY STARING AT UNTIL
THE VACCINE?
>> IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY HAVE
TO BE THAT WAY.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO COMPLETELY
ELIMINATE IT AND TURN IT AROUND
RAPIDLY OR DRAMATICALLY, AND YOU
LOOK AT THE -- YOU LOOK AT THE
CURVE, CHUCK, AND IT’S
EXPEDIENTIAL WHEN YOU COMPARE
THE CURVES IN THE SPRING AND IN
THE SUMMER, AND WITH THE
INFLEXION OF THE CURVE WHERE WE
ARE RIGHT NOW, WE SHOULD NOT
ACCEPT THAT WE CAN’T DO ANYTHING
ABOUT THAT.
PUTTING VACCINES ASIDE FOR A
MOMENT, WHICH WILL BE
EXTRAORDINARY HELPFUL, IF WE
IMPLEMENT THE SIMPLE PUBLIC
HEALTH MEASURES THAT I WAS
MENTIONING TO YOU, WE CAN BLUNT
THAT INFLEXION.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE AS HIGH
UP.
YOU BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE WITH
THE HOLIDAYS.
I THINK THE PEOPLE IN THIS
COUNTRY NEED TO REALISTICALLY DO
A RISK BENEFIT ASSESSMENT.
EVERY FAMILY IS DIFFERENT.
EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT LEVEL
OF RISK THEY WANT TO TOLERATE,
BUT WHEN YOU THINK OF THE
HOLIDAY SEASON AND THE
CONGREGATING INDOORS, AND WHAT
ARE INNOCENT LOVELY FUNCTIONS
LIKE MEALS WITH FAMILY AND
FRIENDS, YOU HAVE TO AT LEAST
THINK IN TERMS OF EVALUATING, DO
YOU HAVE PEOPLE IN YOUR FAMILY
THAT ARE ELDERLY THAT MIGHT HAVE
UNDERLYING CONDITIONS, LIKE
SOMEBODY ON CHEMOTHERAPY OR
OTHER THINGS THAT WEAKEN THEIR
IMMUNE SYSTEM IN DO YOU REALLY
WANT TO GET A CROWD OF 10, 15,
20 PEOPLE, MANY OF WHOM ARE
COMING IN FROM PLACES WHERE THEY
HAVE GONE FROM CROWDED AIRPORTS
TO PLANES, GET INTO THE HOUSE,
AND THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT
HAVE BEEN SUCH JOYOUS THINGS IN
THE PAST, BUT THIS IS A VERY
SPECIAL SITUATION.
YOU DON’T WANT TO CALL IT ALL
OFF, AND YOU WANT TO SAY AT
LEAST GIVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
THE BENEFIT OF HAVING CONSIDERED
WHAT IS THE RISK BENEFIT OF
DOING THAT AS OPPOSED TO
CONSTRAINING WHAT YOU DO TO THE
VERY CORE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN
YOUR HOME?
YOU JUST NEED TO CONSIDER IT AND
MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION.
>> SHOULD WE BE HERE?
WE ARE IN A DARK, BLEAK PLACE.
WAS THIS PREVENTIBLE, NUMBER
ONE?
AND IS THIS ON US, THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE, OR IS THIS ON US, THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?
>> YOU KNOW, IT’S VERY
DIFFICULT, CHUCK, TO MAKE THOSE
KINDS OF JUDGMENTS.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THERE WERE
THINGS THAT WENT ON THAT HAVE
GONE ON THAT HAVE BEEN, YOU
KNOW, DISTURBING TO ME WAS THE
LACK OF CONSISTENCY OF WHAT WE
HAVE DONE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN,
YOU KNOW, CLEAR TO ME THAT COULD
POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN CONTRIBUTING
TO THIS IS THAT ONE OF THE GREAT
THINGS AND BEAUTIES OF OUR
COUNTRY IS THIS FEDERALISTS
APPROACH WHERE THE STATES CAN DO
THINGS INDIVIDUALLY AND THEY
HAVE THEIR OWN LEEWAY TO DO
THINGS AND MAKE DECISIONS, AND
THERE’S GOOD THINGS ABOUT THAT
BECAUSE THE STATES DIFFER IN SO
MANY WAYS THAT YOU WANT THEM TO
HAVE THAT INDEPENDENCE OF BEING
ABLE TO DO WHAT THEY FEEL IS
BEST FOR THE STATE, BUT WHEN YOU
ARE DEALING WITH SOMETHING THAT
IS AN EXTRAORDINARY OUTBREAK OF
AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE THAT
DOESN’T KNOW STATE BOUNDARIES
AND DOESN’T KNOW COUNTY
BOUNDARIES OR CITY BOUNDARIES,
THEN YOU HAVE TO PULL TOGETHER
AS A WHOLE AND DO THINGS
CONSISTENTLY.
SOME HAVE DONE THAT AND SOME
HAVE DONE IT WELL, BUT IT HAS
NOT BEEN TOTALLY CONSISTENT
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
I THINK FOR THAT REASON WE NEVER
REALLY GOT, FOR EXAMPLE, DOWN TO
THE LOWER BASELINE THAT WE
WANTED TO BE AT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY,
YOU KNOW, WE ARE NOT ALONE IN
THIS.
IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING ON
IN EUROPE RIGHT NOW, THIS
COMBINATION OF COVID FATIGUE OF
PEOPLE FEELING THEY JUST CAN’T
TAKE IT ANY LONGER, HAVING THEM
DO RISKY THINGS THAT ARE LEADING
TO SURGES, I THINK ONE OF THE
CONFUSING ISSUES IS THAT PEOPLE
THINK WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT
MASKS, WHEN YOU ARE TALKING
ABOUT DISTANCE AND AVOIDING
CROWDS, THAT YOU MEAN SHUTTING
DOWN THE COUNTRY OR SHUTTING
DOWN THE ECONOMY.
YOU DON’T NEED TO SHUTDOWN.
WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT SHUTTING
DOWN.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE
CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF
PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES, WHICH
UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE SEEN THAT
IN A SPOTTY WAY, AND WE HAVE NOT
SEEN IT CONSISTENTLY ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
THAT’S JUST A FACT, CHUCK, AND
IT’S NOT ANYTHING THAT I WANT TO
SAY OR WE ARE MAKING UP, IT’S A
FACT.
>> I MEAN, I GUESS THE QUESTION
I HAVE IS, IS IT THE QUESTION TH
IS IS IT NATIONAL LEADERSHIP
THAT WAS THE MISSING PIECE?
WE HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE, WE
HAVE HAD THE 10th AMENDMENT
SINCE WE STARTED THE
CONSTITUTION.
>> THAT GETS INTO POLITICAL
ISSUES THAT I DON’T WANT TO GET
INTO BECAUSE THAT JUST
BACKTRACKS FROM WHAT I WANT TO
SAY.
>> I GET THAT, BUT IT’S HARD NOT
TO LOOK AT THAT.
LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT TESTING.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT IT IS STILL
NOT EASY TO GET A TEST AND IT’S
NOT EASY TO GET A TEST QUICKLY.
WHERE, AND YOU SAID YOURSELF, I
THINK EARLIER THAT YOU REGRET
THAT IS ONE OF YOUR EARLY
REGRETS IS OUR TESTING STRATEGY,
EXPLAIN.
>> WHAT I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO
HAVE SEEN DONE, AND I
ARTICULATED THIS AND IT DIDN’T
GO VERY FAR, IS THE IDEA ABOUT
TESTING TO DETERMINE IF A
PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL IS
INFECTED SO YOU CAN IDENTIFY,
ISOLATE, AND CONTACT SPRAS.
I’M ALL FOR THAT.
THAT’S FINE.
BUT I’M ALSO FOR WHAT I SAID MONTHS AND MONTHS AGO THAT WE
MONTHS AND MONTHS AGO THAT WE
SHOULD BE FLOODING THE TESTS TO
DETERMINE THE PEN GRANTETRANTS O
A-SYMPTOMATIC SPREAD.
WE HAVE POINTED CARE, SENSITIVE,
SPECIFIC, YOU CAN DO IT AT HOME,
YOU CAN GET THE RESULTS
YOURSELF.
SO YOU CAN KNOW WHEN YOU WAKE UP
IN THE MORNING WHETHER OR NOT
YOU’RE INFECTED.
WHETHER OR NOT THE PEOPLE YOU
MIGHT WANT TO INVITE OVER TO
YOUR HOME FOR A HOLIDAY ARE
INFECTED.
WE DON’T HAVE THAT AND WE SHOULD
HAVE THAT.
I HOPE WE DO GET THAT.
THAT HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS
NOT BEEN WITHIN OUR GRASP.
I KNOW TECHNICALLY IT IS NOT THE
EASIEST THING TO DO, BUT I WISH
WE HAD DONE THAT.
>> TWO MORE QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
IF PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN ASKS
YOU THE CURRENT CORONAVIRUS TASK
FORCE, DR. FAUCI, SHOULD I DEEP
IN TACT AND SUPPLEMENT IT, WHAT
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?
>> I’M SORRY I WON’T ANSWER THAT
QUESTION BECAUSE THAT WILL BE UP
TO THE INCOMING PRESIDENT.
I MEAN I, THE ONE THING THAT IS
VERY CLEAR, AS I’M DOING THIS
RIGHT NOW AS YOU WELL KNOWN FOR
SIX ADMINISTRATIONS AND I LOOK
FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO DO IT,
BUT THOSE DECISIONS WILL BE UP
TO THE INCOMING GROUP.
>> FAIR ENOUGH.
>> FINAL QUESTION IS THIS.
WHEN WOULD YOU GET ON AN AIRPORT
AND WHEN WOULD YOU RECOMMEND
THAT PEOPLE GET ON AN AIRPORT
COMFORTABLY?
>> THAT GOES BACK TO A QUESTION
THAT I ANSWERED TO YOU A BIT
AGO.
EACH PERSON HAS TO MAKE A
DECISION BASED ON THEIR OWN
EVALINDICATION OF THE RISK AGAINST DETERMINATION.
AGAINST DETERMINATION.
MY AGE, YOU KNOW, THE RISK, I
AM --
>> OUR AGE LESS.
I DON’T WANT TO TAKE A RISK LIKE
THAT, IF IT IS EXTRAORDINARILY
IMPORTANT, THE JOB THAT I’M
WEDDED TO WITH THAT I’M DEVOTED
TO 24/7, IT DOESN’T REQUIRE MY
GETTING ON A PLANE.
SO I DON’T KNOW WHAT REASON
WOULD BE FOR ME TO GET ON A
PLANE RIGHT NOW.
MAYBE AS WE GET VACCINES AND THE
LEVEL OF INFECTION GOES WAY DOWN
IN THE COMMUNITY, WHICH I CAN
TELL YOU, CHUCK, IT WILL.
WE FULLY IMPLEMENT VACCINES,
THEN I WILL BE ON A PLANE AND FIELD COMFORTABLE.
FIELD COMFORTABLE.
SO RIGHT NOW I HAVE TOO MUCH.
>> THANK YOU, DR. FAUCI.
I APPRECIATE YOU COMING ON AND