Fauci: “The country still has a long way to go to be safe” | New

Despite millions of vaccine doses administered across the country, the threat of COVID-19 is still real, Dr Anthony Fauci said at a virtual town hall on Tuesday evening.

The country still has 70,000 new infections per day; 62 million people aged 12 and over eligible for vaccination have still not been vaccinated. The number does not include the last eligible group of 5-11 year olds, he said.

“We are vulnerable. We could get a raise unless we vaccinate more people,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.

Fauci spoke about the continuing threat as well as vaccines, new drugs on the horizon and the post-pandemic future during the hour-long event, which was hosted and moderated by Representative Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto.

Eshoo, who chairs the House subcommittee on health, presented Fauci with questions from the public on all aspects of the pandemic, including the global pandemic, the long COVID and childhood vaccinations.

With the holiday season kicking off with Thanksgiving in about two weeks, the first question on many minds was whether it was safe to gather inside.

“Obviously, if you are fully immunized, you can enjoy the holidays with your children, grandchildren and families,” Fauci said.

But for people who have only had one of the two recommended injections, the risk is “obviously present” although reduced, he said. People who have only had one injection should take a rapid COVID-19 test before reuniting with loved ones to minimize infection, he said.

The country still has a long way to go to be safe. Among people of all ages, only 58% have been fully immunized; 67% received a dose. Of those aged 12 and older, 68% are fully vaccinated and 79% have only received a single dose, he said.

Not getting the vaccine is “inexcusable,” Fauci said. Vaccines are a very effective tool in controlling the virus.

He recommended that all eligible people receive a booster injection. Studies show that booster shots dramatically improve immunity against the virus. Protection against the initial round of fire begins to weaken in the months that follow. People who have had COVID-19 infections and subsequently received the full vaccination schedule should also continue to receive the booster due to the decline in immunity months later and the possibility of being re-infected, a he declared.

Currently, only people 65 years of age and older or those with medical conditions that make them vulnerable to serious illness can be recalled. Drug maker Pfizer on Tuesday submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration for authorization to use emergency booster injections for anyone 18 years of age and older, it noted.

Children aged 5 to 11 who now receive their first vaccines will also likely need boosters, but studies on this are still ongoing, he said. Although vaccine doses for this age group are only a third of the dose of an adult vaccine, Fauci said this does not decrease the vaccine’s effectiveness. Children are given reduced doses because they are smaller, he said.

Eshoo noted that Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital is among facilities that are conducting clinical trials using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children.

“The clinical trials done in children are quite rewarding,” Fauci said.

In 5-11 year olds, it is 91% effective in preventing symptomatic disease. In children 12 to 15 years old, the effectiveness is close to 100%. In both age groups, the safety profile is also high, he said.

Trials are also underway for two younger age groups: children aged 2 to 5 and those aged 6 months to 2 years. The data will likely be available in the first quarter of 2022, he said.

Many people are worried about what the government is doing about ‘long COVID’, the mysterious syndrome that causes some people to stay sick with heart, lung and neurological problems, among others, for many months after their initial infection. to COVID-19. When the House subcommittee on health held hearings on the lengthy COVID, patients said they couldn’t work or go to school due to the debilitating effects, Eshoo noted.

“The patients who testified were deeply frustrated. None of the doctors made a diagnosis that (their symptoms) could be a long COVID,” she said.

Fauci said $ 1.15 billion has been spent on the National Institutes of Health to study the lengthy COVID and ways to recognize, intervene or prevent the syndrome after COVID-19 infection. It is estimated that 10% to 30% of patients have persistent symptoms that measure in months or more, including debilitating fatigue, tachycardia (heart disease) and brain fog, he said.

Fauci also spoke about potential societal changes after the pandemic ends. It is likely that some people will continue to voluntarily wear masks long after the pandemic is over, he said.

For some, this can become the “new normal” during the winter months. Many people noticed a marked decrease in flu cases last winter and may think it’s a good idea to continue wearing masks during the winter flu and cold season, he said.

Buildings, shops and restaurants are also likely to pay more attention to good ventilation, which will likely be part of building codes, he said.

On the drug front, COVID-19 has launched a lot of research into antiviral drugs. Merck’s new oral drug, molnupiravir, in clinical trials has decreased the likelihood of hospitalization and death in COVID-19 patients if given early in infection. The UK’s medicines regulator approved its use on November 4.

Last week, Pfizer announced that research on its promising oral drug called paxlovid, a protease inhibitor, showed 89% effectiveness in preventing hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 when administered in three to five days of the first symptoms, he said. The National Institutes of Health has also invested $ 3.2 billion in antiviral drugs to prevent the disease from progressing, Fauci said.

Eshoo called these developments “blockbuster”.

When asked what piece of legislation he would like to draft to change society, Fauci replied that he would not rely on the legislation. Funding research and development and rebuilding the country’s decimated public health system would go a long way towards securing a more secure future, he said.

But he noted a desirable change.

“I would like to change the division in our society. The common enemy is the virus and not each other,” he said.

Asked about religious exemptions, Fauci added that when a health emergency of such magnitude occurs, there may be exceptions to religious traditions. Rarely do religions have a belief or code that prevents people from getting vaccinated in the first place. Some people will say it’s against their religious beliefs, but it might not be part of their established religion, he said.

Fauci walked straight but cautiously when giving his opinion on the matter.

“Sometimes the good of society has to take precedence over your own individual right to choose. There have to be exceptions,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult to sort out. It’s going to be a controversial issue.”

He noted that other countries, notably England, have again seen recent spikes in their COVID-19 cases because they removed precautions such as mask requirements and they didn’t did not vaccinate the children. Cases increased when the cold weather started and people started doing activities indoors. In countries where cases have increased, they have also slowed the vaccination campaign, he said.

“Here it depends entirely on what we do” to prevent another wave this winter in the United States, Fauci said. He encouraged all those who were vaccinated six months or more ago to get vaccinated and those who have not yet been vaccinated to receive their vaccines as soon as they can.

The $ 64,000 question is how to talk to people uninformed about the pandemic and vaccines, Eshoo noted. Fauci said US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy recently released a online toolkit to help those who are reluctant to get vaccinated.

“A lot of people have valid questions that have never been answered. There is a lot of misinformation and misinformation,” he said, distinguishing between deliberate lies and false or inaccurate information.

“Be patient, don’t be accusatory,” Fauci said.