Dr. Fauci Warns of 'Serious Trouble' Starting Today
Dr. Anthomy Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wants to ‘jolt’ you into realizing ‘that it is within our hands to prevent’ COVID-19."The idea of 200,000 deaths is really very sobering, and in some respects, stunning," Dr. Fauci confessed about the milestone, officially reached on Tuesday. "The metric for me is the concern I've had and continue to have for this baseline of cases that we have every day. Going back and forth between 35,000 and 40,000 cases per day, which, you know, ultimately some will lead to hospitalizations and those will lead to deaths," he continued.
Ever wondered what's behind the social distancing standard of six feet between yourself and another person? It goes back to studies conducted in the 1940s about how far respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes travel before they drop to the ground. But the novel coronavirus is unique in many ways, and one of them is how it spreads from person to person. At the beginning of the pandemic, scientists went by the six-feet standard. But there's growing evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted via aerosols—smaller droplets that don't drop and instead float in the air for a time—leading to a CDC update to that effect this week. So what does it mean for you, right now? Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, answered that in a recent Q&A with Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green.
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© Provided by Eat This, Not That! woman sneezing with spray and small drops "Recent data is making it much, much clearer that there is a degree of aerosol spread," said Fauci. "So let me explain exactly what aerosol spread is, so people understand, because I think there's a lot of misperception about that." Read on, and to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.
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How COVID spreads: A changing perspective
He explained that respiratory droplets do spread COVID-19, but the illness is frequently spread by people who don't show signs of being ill. "Most people who are spreading it are speaking the way I'm speaking," said Fauci. "There are droplets that come out with speaking, singing, and certainly with coughing and sneezing."
This "Innocent" Activity Can Get You COVID, Warns Dr. Fauci
"What we're seeing throughout the country is that innocent get-togethers of family and friends" leads to infection, says Dr. Fauci.Fauci detailed a typical scenario: "Eight, 10 people get together at a dinner with friends and family. One of them is infected, but with no symptoms, They put their guard down. You're sitting, you're eating, you're drinking, you take your mask off. And that's how we're starting to see infections.
Gallery: Dr. Fauci Issues New Warning for Winter (ETNT Health)
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Dr. Fauci Issues New Warning for Winter
During a week that saw COVID-related deaths surpass 204,000, AIDS activist Peter Staley interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci about COVID-19, the mechanics of viral transmission, harm reduction, and how it's going for him at the White House. Read on, and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.
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1. Dr. Fauci Says Our Infection Rate is Way Too High—and We're in Danger This Fall and Winter
"That heightens my anxiety"—he says of rising cases—"as we get into the fall and winter months, when in many cases, people are going to be forced to spend more time indoors," he says. "And that's the reason why I keep pleading with the American public to try to get our baseline level of infections down below the unacceptably high level they're at now, which is today and yesterday was up to 44,000 cases a day because that indicates that there's community spread—and when this community spread out there and you spend some time indoors with people who are not going to be tested every day and know whether they're infected or not, then the risk increases. So that's what I would have hoped we could avoid was going into the fall and winter at a very low level of community infection. Unfortunately for us, Peter, that's not where we are right now today."
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2. Dr. Fauci Says COVID is Likely Spread Via Aerosols
"What I'm learning now, and what I'm seeing is that I am assuming that there is a degree of aerosol and I don't know what that degree is," Fauci said. "And the reason I say that is twofold. One is that there have been circumstances of epidemiological reports of restaurants and other places where the situation was such that it had to be aerosol." He says the other reason is that particle physicists believe it to be true. "We both believe some degree of aerosol transmissibility, which should alert us in a positive value-added way of being very careful about circulation when you're indoors and keeping windows open and making sure that you're attentive to this possibility."
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3. However, Dr. Fauci is Not Saying You Can’t Go Outside
"It's almost as if some people, maybe me, a month ago, two ago, would be hesitant to even say that [COVID-19 is spread via aerosols] because you were afraid that the next headline is Fauci says the virus in the air. And the next thing, you know, people are going to say, I can't go outside! And that's absolutely not what we're talking about," he says. The viral load dissipates faster outdoors—think of smoking indoors vs. outdoors.
Dr. Fauci Just Said When We Get Back to "Normal"
With more than a 9/11's worth of American deaths daily attributed to COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, joined California State University Chancellor Timothy White, to discuss the coronavirus and what we need to do to get it under control. "We are going through—and I don't think you need me to tell you this—the most extraordinary experience of historic outbreak, the impact and the likes of which we have not seen on this planet in 102 years since the pandemic of 1918," said Fauci, "and we are still struggling.
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4. The COVID Mutation May Be More Transmissible—Which Means You Should “Double Down On Your Health Measures”
Fauci was asked about the new coronavirus mutation announced this week, and he said he didn't know "what the cart or the horse is"—meaning he didn't know if the mutation was more contagious or if people got sick because we reopened the economy too early. "I'm not ruling out the possibility at all that this is making it more transmissible, which brings me to, again, a topic that we've discussed in the past privately is that this almost tells you why it's even more important to do the things we're talking about," Fauci said. "Masks, distancing, outdoors more than indoors, avoiding crowds, washing hands. Cause if it's more transmissible, you gotta double down on your public health measures."
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5. Dr. Fauci Said We’re a Long Way Off From “Herd Immunity”
"We have plenty of vulnerable people in the United States," said Fauci, when asked about CDC director Robert Redfield's statement that "A majority of our nation, more than 90% of the population, remains susceptible." "So we have a long way to go to get to herd immunity. And by a long way, what are the implications of that? The implications of that if you are not attentive to people getting infected, because you say, well, we're almost on our way to herd immunity—[that] has gotten us now 200,000 deaths, 6.9 million infections. So, you know, just the data speak for themselves."
Dr. Fauci Has This Message of Hope for 2021
"I will guarantee you this will end," he said. But we all have to do this first.As COVID-19 vaccines have begun to roll out to healthcare workers, Fauci and other public health officials have urged Americans to stay vigilant about protective measures like mask wearing, social distancing and handwashing to stem spread of the virus.
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6. Dr. Fauci Said if You Must Rally, Rally Outside
"If you have to get a group of people together, for whatever purpose, do it outdoors—if you do it in a semi indoor, make it modified indoor with an incredible amount of airflow and wear a mask. So I don't care what the rally is. I think those are the kinds of principles when you start naming it, then all of a sudden everybody gets their red flag up and they take sides of it."
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7. Dr. Fauci Washes His Hands After Handling Packages
"Well, you know, it's very interesting cause I get asked that question cause people want to know what I do, you know, in the beginning, when those studies first came out, and I would get a package, I would get the usual stuff and, you know, wipe it off, but it became so cumbersome that it was really, I mean—it's bad enough having to kind of to just let it sit out for a little while. You know what I do, I wash my hands after I touch it. That's what I do. I mean, that's simple."
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8. How to Avoid COVID-19
As for yourself, do everything you can to prevent getting—and spreading—COVID-19 in the first place: Wear a face mask, get tested if you think you have coronavirus, avoid crowds (and bars, and house parties), practice social distancing, only run essential errands, wash your hands regularly, disinfect frequently touched surfaces, and to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
Dr. Fauci Predicts When We'll Return to Normal
"Together with a vaccine, I believe in 2021 we will see this behind us. It’s not going to happen in the first few months. If we do it correctly, hopefully, as we get into the end of the summer, the beginning of the fall of 2021, we can start to approach some degree of normality.""Well, the pandemic emerged from the standpoint of a societal issue at the worst possible time," said Dr. Fauci, when asked to look back on this "tough year," "because anybody who views what's going on throughout the world, but particularly in our own country, there's a great deal of divisiveness in the country.
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Fauci explained that if droplets are a certain size, they drop to the ground within six feet, which led to the six-feet social distancing rule. But smaller droplets seem able to travel farther and hang in the air longer. "When you say 'aerosol,' that means these respiratory particles don't immediately go to the ground," he said. "They have the capability of floating around anywhere from many seconds to minutes or maybe even longer, which means that being just six feet away isn't necessarily the total protection."
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How to keep yourself safe
"You've got to wear a mask," said Fauci. "And you've got to remember that if you're indoors, it is much more difficult to escape infection when there's aerosol spread, because it continues to recirculate. If I'm in a room and there's no really good circulation in and out, you can have that droplet go around for several minutes. So just being six feet apart is not going to help you."
He summed it up: "One, wear a mask. Number two: outdoors is always better than indoors. And if you're going to be indoors, keep the windows open."
Besides wearing a face mask, Fauci strongly recommends you avoid crowds, social distance, only run essential errands, wash your hands frequently, and to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
Dr. Fauci Predicts When We'll Return to Normal .
"Together with a vaccine, I believe in 2021 we will see this behind us. It’s not going to happen in the first few months. If we do it correctly, hopefully, as we get into the end of the summer, the beginning of the fall of 2021, we can start to approach some degree of normality.""Well, the pandemic emerged from the standpoint of a societal issue at the worst possible time," said Dr. Fauci, when asked to look back on this "tough year," "because anybody who views what's going on throughout the world, but particularly in our own country, there's a great deal of divisiveness in the country.