- Dr. Anthony Fauci thinks we may never get rid of the coronavirus.
- Still, he is confident that by 2022 Americans will be able to resume most aspects of life, as we knew it before the epidemic – “if we get vaccinated and we implement public health measures.”
- Read our extensive comprehensive interview below, in which we will discuss Fausy’s daily routine, his tips for holiday gatherings, his advice on how to keep your immune system “working optimally” and more.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Dr. Anthony Fawcett answered the phone at lunchtime when he was bitten by a cold piece of pizza.
The head of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, these days has almost no time to eat. He told me he was in a back-to-back videoconference. This may be his only chance to catch the bite for a while.
From the HIV epidemic to the Ebola outbreak – the previous five U.S. Advised the President, since he took office at the National Institutes of Health in 1984, so doctors were always certain that there would be some kind of public health crisis. Emerges during the gaze of President Donald Trump. And when that happened, he would be called to the White House.
“Take care of whomever you want,” he said.
Although he doubts that we will ever be able to eradicate the novel coronavirus, Fossey is confident that by the end of 2020 we will have some kind of functional, effective vaccine – although it will not be widely available. It could be more like in late 2021 or early 2022, he doubts, when we will be able to get together as we did in the pre-coronavirus days of 2019. Well, almost.
Here’s what we have to say about how to prevent the spread of the virus (and then) until a vaccine arrives, and how our mental health should go through an epidemic with integrity.
Edit for visit length and clarity.
It seems that everyone is the type of banking since the end of the coronavirus crisis in the spring 2022. People are planning weddings, trips and delayed birthday celebrations. Will we be safe to party like that by summer 2022?
Yes, I think so. But again, this is all speculation and speculation.
I believe that by the end of 2021, if we get – and I am cautiously optimistic that we have – a safe and effective vaccine by the end of this calendar year. I said November-December, others say October. I think it’s unlikely in October October, but maybe, you never know. But we say the safe bet will be the end of this calendar year.
You will effectively administer this vaccine to millions of people in the United States as long as they need it. And it’s not just in the United States. It is hoped that there will be enough vaccines and adequate supply of billions of doses to be able to distribute the vaccine evenly around the world.
But that’s a different story. That’s not your question. Your question is, what about us here?
I believe that by the end of 2021, if we are all vaccinated and we continue to implement the health-hygienic measures we have consistently announced over the last several months – they are not sticking to the universal – if we do that, in addition to vaccination, We’ll get to a point where the virus level is so low, and maybe you know, close to absent.
I don’t think we will eradicate it.
We may not be able to eradicate it completely, but if you reach a very low level, and the population is safe enough – either vaccinated or previously infected, then you can develop a bunch of immunity that you will have an outbreak No.
So when people say spring 2022, I think it’s fair, because I think if we get vaccinated and we implement public health measures, I think it could be even earlier. . But 2022 I think is a pretty good bet.
Well, that’s good to hear.
I also wanted to ask in a more urgent term, now that we know a little more about how the virus works, have you changed your routines? Like, what kind of things can we relax a little, and where and how can we do it safely?
Well, I don’t think we need to go on my regulars, which is probably unusual.
I work seven days a week, 18 hours a day. I’m in my office fee half a day, depending on the day I’m in the White House half a day.
I’m going for my exercise – a three to four mile power walk at night with my wife – she’s a guy I know didn’t get infected.
She has a routine of her own. She is the head of the department at NIH here, but she does virtually significant work. So it is in contact with very few people.
I do something socially, and it’s usually dinner on the back deck with people we’ve known for a long time, just as indispensable as we try to protect ourselves against infection.
So we have work, work, work, exercise, eating – a very systematic, predictable existence but do it very safely.
I mean, no outside entertainment, just nothing but my relationship with my wife – which is awful. And my relationships with many close friends who live nearby, which come on weekends. So our total number is never more than four or five.
Sort of like that, it looks like people are really eager for any kind of silver-bullet coronavirus prevention. You may have noticed that not long ago, people took your comments about vitamins and ran with them, or people who are really excited about the way low-carb diets and stuff like that.
Is there anything you want to clarify about the role that diet and lifestyle can play in disease immunity and severity?
Yeah Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either, Looks like BT aint for me either. I am used to living with it. [Laughs.]
Sometimes people are deficient in vitamin D when they are not out in the sun so my vitamin-D levels were generally low. I started taking vitamin-D supplements, and now my vitamin-D levels are normal.
And there is good evidence that if you have low levels of vitamin-D, you are more likely to get an infection when you have an infection around you. That data is very good data.
But when you take multiple multivitamins and the herbs and people to boost the so-called immune system, it doesn’t really boost the immune system, and can have a better placebo effect than anything else.
If you really want to keep your immune system functioning optimally, there are common things you can do: get a reasonable amount, get a good diet, try to avoid or eliminate severe stress, which we know can sometimes have an effect. Can affect. Immune system. It’s a healthier lifestyle than giving yourself any supplements.
I also wanted to ask – since we have been living in the summer for several months now – how are we going to keep going crazy this winter? You mentioned your dinner outside, and your walk outside. It will be a little difficult. What’s in a Mental-Health Toolbox for Your Winter Times? I don’t know if you’re thinking of that yet.
I think. I don’t have any easy answers, but my wife and I actually had a serious conversation last night, as we were sitting on the deck, about what would happen to Heck during the winter, you know?
And I’m not sure, to be honest with you.
But definitely we are going to do more indoor things than before. Because we currently do nothing indoors with people.
In fact, I almost don’t remember what my wife and I did indoors and with anyone other than one of my children. One of my three children visited us – he lives in three different cities. They were very careful to keep themselves isolated in the basement as needed for 14 days before communicating with us! [Laughs.]
So we are very careful for many reasons that you want to be careful, but also you know that I am not the youngest person in the world. So I’m in the risk category.
It comes down to one of my other questions: What are you going to do for the holidays? At Thanksgiving and Christmas, will you connect with people who live in other states, such as your daughters?
You know, that’s a good question. We haven’t even started addressing it.
We’re going to do some things, I think, you know, maybe when the test for surveillance becomes more available, you might be tested? Give people a test that is a 15 minute test, so you know when you’re good.
It is not a 100% guarantee. Because some of these surveillance tests are not as sensitive as PCR tests, but nonetheless, this may be one way to do it.
But it’s inappropriate, because only people who have access will be able to do it. So it will not be universally available to the people.
So how do you think we will need a vaccine to survive before we can live shoulder to shoulder with strangers again? How long will it be before we can crowd the bar like in the old days?
Well, you know, I don’t think you should go to the bar under any circumstances. [Laughs.] Just a joke.
But I think you have to take it so that everyone in the population gets vaccinated. Once you get that, as I said, it comes back to the first question I answered for you. I think it could be completed by the end of 2021.
OK. And the same timelines for a crowded restaurant or indoor concert?
Yes. Yes.
So my last question to you is, is there any big misconception that you want to clear around the coronavirus vaccine, or how it will work, or what we will need to do when it is here?
Well, I don’t know if there’s any misunderstanding, but there’s a real concern that maybe we’re moving too fast.
And I think people need to understand that motion is not related to a compromise of safety or a compromise of scientific integrity. The fact that we have been able to move so fast is a real reflection of the extraordinary technological advances that have been made in the development of vaccines.
Things that may have taken a year for the virus to grow or sequence the virus, or get to the point where you can start making vaccines. Things measured in years are now measured in weeks to months. Speed should therefore not be interpreted as a reckless motion that compromises safety or effectiveness or scientific integrity. There is misunderstanding.
As you can see, there is a lot of skepticism in society about the transparency of this. Will it be safe? Will it be effective?
There are a lot of outposts in the process that ensure.
Yes. I was also thinking in the context of this week, for example, CDC director Robert Redfield saying that if the vaccine has an immunity of about 70%, you can still choose to wear a mask.
Sure yes. Like I said – you have a record of my words.
I said a combination of effective vaccines And Adherence to certain public-health principles will reach where we want to be by the end of 2021.
I never just said vaccine.
You should never abandon public-health measures. And the severity of public health measures depends on the level of infection in the community.
If there is almost no infection in the community with the vaccine, you can say, “I can get along with people safely.”
You can do it with or without a mask.
It will all depend on the level of infection in the community and how little you have done with the vaccine.
I think that’s a helpful clarification point for people. I’ll let you go back to your pizza because I know you’ve got a jam-packed schedule.
OK. very good. thank you very much. Nice to meet you. Bye.
