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Just a couple weeks ago, Americans were collectively being good little boys and girls, locking themselves inside and abiding by the mandates given to them by Dr. Fauci, the CDC, and local governments.
Today, in much of the country, it feels like the top has popped off—George Floyd protests, enticing summer weather, lockdown fatigue, and media scare tactics subsiding—have turned the pandemic into more of a punchline than a problem.
Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who last week I imagined his daily routine post-protest cucking, is still terrified of what’s to come, calling the coronavirus his “worst nightmare”on Tuesday and saying the fight is far from over.
“In a period of four months, it has devastated the whole world,” Fauci said during a virtual appearance at a conference held by Biotechnology Innovation Organization. “And it isn’t over yet.”
Fauci then claimed that there is still so much to learn about how the virus spreads and the long-term implications it has on the body.
“Oh my goodness,” Fauci added. “Where is it going to end? We’re still at the beginning of really understanding.”
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who rose to prominence with his work on HIV, said the only way to stop the spread of COVID-19 is with a vaccine, and it won’t “burn itself out” like SARS.
He expects “more than one winner in the vaccine field because we will need vaccines for the entire world — billions and billions of doses,” he said.
“I’m very heartened by the fact that the industry has stepped to the plate — very much differently than what we saw with SARS,” Fauci said. “The industry is not stupid — they figured it out. SARS had a degree of transmissibility that it burned itself out with pure public health measures. No way is that going to happen with this virus.”
Meanwhile, in America:
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