- Temperature checks are a very inaccurate method of relying on people to screen for the coronavirus.
- That’s according to White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said the White House and its own agency have dropped a requirement for temperature control that was previously used to screen visitors.
- Fauci says it’s better to just ask people about screening questions to measure their potential exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
It feels like temperature controls are just starting to appear as a “Hello, how are you” almost everywhere you go these days? A few weeks ago I went in for a planned dentist appointment. I had to pull first so the receptionist could take a quick temperature reading before I could get to the rest of the office. Schools like these in Illinois also have temperature control kiosks set up, and if you are flying out of LAX in the coming weeks, be prepared for Delta Airlines to take your temperature. Hotels across the country, including properties like the Four Seasons in Vail, Colorado? Same thing. You must pass a temperature check to be allowed inside.
And yet, no matter how normalized this may begin to be, it may come as a surprise to you that White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci is not exactly a fan of relying on temperature controls as a way to stop the spread of the coronavirus right now.
During a Facebook Live event associated with Walter Reed Medical Center, Fauci said temperature controls are so inaccurate that the White House has dropped them altogether, as has Fauci’s office (he is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).
“We at the NIH have found that it’s much, much better to just interrogate people when they come in and save time, because the temperatures are notoriously inaccurate many times,” Fauci said.
He pointed out the occurrence, for example, of so many hot days in a row this summer. “It’s the middle of summer, we had something … 15 days, 90 degrees in a row,” Fauci continued. ‘I went to the White House the next day. My temp was like 103 until I took it in the air-conditioned car, and then it was 97.4. When I tried to get into another facility, my temperature was 93, which means I would probably have to be on a respirator. That I think we should just leave it at that, be careful, ask questions and do it that way. ‘
This has had serious consequences for schools, which are trying to get in shape and start around the country – reports have piled up from one school system to another over the past few days, coronavirus announcements, and then to some extent (such as by moving to an online model). Fauci’s comments suggest that places like this and others that take temperatures and use that as a basis for who can enter or not do this, whether they realize it or not, for the most part to feel good (too feel like they do eat) as opposed to taking a meaningful step to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Andy is a reporter in Memphis who also contributes to outlets such as Fast Company and The Guardian. If he does not write about technology, he can be found protective about his growing collection of vinyl, as well as his Whovianism nursing and binge on a variety of TV shows that you probably will not like.
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