Dr. Fauci Says This Is the Biggest COVID Mistake You're Making
This week, as the United States passed the grim milestone of 200,000 coronavirus deaths, the number of infections spiked in at least 22 states. Health experts maintain that one of the reasons the country is experiencing an increase in the number of cases in recent weeks has to do with young people—especially college aged students—returning to school. And, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, there is one major mistake they are making that is contributing to the surge of cases—and inevitably, an increase in deaths. Read on, and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.
Young People Are "Innocently" Spreading the Virus
Speaking with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Thursday, Dr. Fauci explained how young people are "unintentionally" and "innocently" infected and killing their elders by attending parties and other social gatherings without masks. He explained that some people "feel that it doesn't matter if they get infected because they're young, which is a really bad mistake because you're propagating the outbreak."
"Right now, the infections in the country are driven more by young people 19 to 25," he pointed out. While it may be innocent, he pleads with young people to look beyond the statistics that "the rate of hospitalizations per a hundred thousand in young people is infinitely less than the elderly and those with underlying conditions," explaining how a simple mistake can ultimately lead to deaths.
"It's understandable if I'm a young person, 20 years old, I'm getting cabin fever about what we've had to do. And I say, "you know, if I get infected, it doesn't really make any difference to me, cause the chances are, I'm not going to have any symptoms. That's a bad thing, because what you're doing is that you are inadvertently propagating the outbreak," he continued.
"Even though you may not get any symptoms, as you have a house party with a lot of drinking and no mask indoors, what's going to happen is that you're going to inadvertently—not deliberately—and I would say innocently, you're going to infect someone else who infects someone else who then will infect someone's grandparent, parent, someone's wife who's on chemotherapy for cancer, an immune deficient child," he points out. "And then you're going to see the hospitalization rate and the death rate go up."
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A New CDC Report Confirms This to be True
"As millennials mingled in bars and restaurants over the summer, and students returned to college campuses, coronavirus infections surged among young adults," reports the New York Times. "From June through August, the incidence of Covid-19 was highest among adults aged 20 to 29 years old, according to research published on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Young adults accounted for more than 20 percent of all confirmed cases. But the infections didn't stop with them, the researchers found: Young adults also seeded waves of new infections among the middle-aged, and then in older Americans. The new data show that outbreaks linked to parties, bars, dormitories and other crowded venues are hazardous not just to the twenty-somethings who are present, but to more vulnerable Americans with whom they are likely to come into contact."
Fauci Begs Young People to Consider Two Things
The first, is the "responsibility to yourself," he reveals, pointing out that young people are not immune to the virus, especially because about 30 to 40% of our population has an underlying condition—including diabetes, hypertension, obesity—"you know, 30% of the population has a BMI of 30 or more, which means they're obese," he points out.
The second is social responsibility. "The only way we're going to end this is if everybody pulls together," he says, adding that wearing a mask should not be a political statement but a life or death choice.
"If you don't wear a mask, that is so destructive," he says. "We are all in this together and we're going to end it together. And when we end this, then you can get back to your normal life, but you gotta end it first." To keep yourself and others free from COVID-19, no matter your age, do as Dr. Fauci advises: wear a mask, avoid crowds, wash your hands and don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
