Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, on Monday warned not to trivialize the novel coronavirus, per multiple reports.
Fauci’s comments reportedly arose during an interview with The New Yorker, when staff writer Michael Specter questioned a tweet sent by President Trump.
“...Feeling really good!” Trump wrote. “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.”
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Fauci raised the point of asymptomatic transmission, saying up to 45% of people can have the virus without showing symptoms, per a report by Daily Mail.
“And then for those who have symptoms, the overwhelming majority are mild,” Fauci reportedly told Specter. “But there are a group of individuals who fall into a certain subset or category, mainly the elderly and those with underlying conditions at any age, who can have a severe outcome.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, on Monday warned not to trivialize the novel coronavirus, per multiple reports. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)
He said others suffer more severe courses of disease, sometimes necessitating hospitalization, ventilation and may even succumb to it. Data gathered by Johns Hopkins University reports over 7.4 million infections in the U.S. with at least 210,000 related deaths.
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“I think anybody who is looking at this realistically has to say this is a very serious situation. Even though it's confused by the fact that such a substantial portion of people generally do quite well. But it is a very serious disease that we need to reckon with,” he reportedly said.
Specter asked Fauci how Trump’s messages should be perceived, according to the Daily Mail.
"Obviously, the message should be that we should try as best as we can to avoid infection. No matter who you are, how old you are, or what your underlying condition is, we should not trivialize it," Fauci said.