Dr. Fauci Just Warned of This Existing Threat
The coronavirus will remain a threat as long as 64 million people remain unvaccinated. So how can you stay safe out there? And should you still be concerned? (Yes, unfortunately.) Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke to Roop Raj of Fox 2 Detroit. Read on for five life-saving pieces of advice he shared—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.
Dr. Fauci Said "We Are Not at a Comfortable Place Yet"
"We are on a downslope right now, if you look at the parameters of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths," Fauci said. "They continue to come down. But we are not at a comfortable place, yet. We still have about 65,000 to 70,000 new cases per day. We have to go much lower than that. As we said so often, it really depends on our ability to vaccinate a considerably larger number of people because right now, about 64 million people in this country are eligible to be vaccinated who have not yet gotten vaccinated."
Dr. Fauci Said More People Will Die if We Let the Virus Spread. Is That What You Want?
"If you're going to take the chance of saying we are going to get to community immunity by just having people get infected so that you get infected people, plus vaccinated people, and you have protection, that's a very high price to pay," Fauci said. "We don't want any more than the 740,000 people or so who have already died from this outbreak."
RELATED: Know This Before Taking Aspirin, Experts Warn
Dr. Fauci Said to Be Very Careful When Indoors
"People fully vaccinated are worried about being around people unvaccinated. Aren't both people able to carry and spread the virus? Why should vaccinated people be more worried, more afraid of people who don't have the vaccine," asked Raj. "I don't think one can say we are more or less afraid of one particular individual," Fauci said. "But I think under the circumstances we know particularly in an indoor setting, that both unvaccinated and vaccinated people can spread the infection, That's one of the reasons why the CDC makes a recommendation that when you are in an indoor congregate setting, when you don't know the status of the individuals involved that we still now, recommend the wearing of masks."
RELATED: 5 "Natural Cures" That are a Waste of Money
Dr. Fauci Said This About Kids and Vaccines
Dr. Fauci said this about 5 to 11 year olds and their vaccine, which may be approved as soon as next week. "The dose will be about one-third the standard dose of Pfizer which is about 30 micrograms," Fauci said. "The dose for children, 5 to 11, will be 10 micrograms. That dose has been shown to induce a very robust response that you can predict would protect. It would be a very good idea to get the children vaccinated not only for their own safety – but also because can be the source of spread." The impact would be great—but, said Fauci: "I think it would be an important contribution. I don't think it will be a game-changer necessarily, but I think the game-changer is the 64 million people who are eligible to be vaccinated right now who have not gotten vaccinated," Fauci said.
RELATED: If You Live Here, You're in Danger, Virus Expert Warns
How to Stay Safe Out There
Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
