Participating in a USA Today Editorial Board meeting on Wednesday, Fauci voiced his frustrations with the volume of individuals denying the seriousness of COVID-19 and urged Americans to wake up to the realities created by the pandemic.
“There are obviously going to be some differences, because we have such a large, diverse country. But the differences shouldn't be fundamental,” Fauci said. “There should be really some common denominators that everyone follows. We've got to say, ‘OK, folks, enough is enough with this political divisiveness, with this claiming that people are making things up. Get rid of these ridiculous conspiracy theories and realize this is a public health crisis.’”
As reported by NPR, some conspiracies regarding the pandemic include that the virus is just another common cold, that it was created in a lab or, according to one Montana resident, that COVID-19 is just “communist Marxism that they're trying to push on this country."
Fauci stressed that “we don't want to shut down as a nation because of the psychological and economic consequences of that. But we at least have got to be consistent in doing some fundamental things.” He added that the US is still in a “vulnerable position.”
The latest figures by Johns Hopkins University state that the US has confirmed over 11.8 million COVID-19 cases and has recorded over 253,000 related deaths. A recent update by the university indicates the US reported a daily death toll of over 2,000 on Thursday - the first time it has surpassed the figure since May.
At present, the states experiencing surges include Illinois, Texas, California, Florida and Michigan. When compared against other nations working to curb the spread of COVID-19, the US still tops the globe in reported cases, with India following close behind with over 9 million cases.
“The data speak for themselves,” Fauci noted. “When you look at the map, where the colors that get darker and redder show that there's increased activity, it's almost the entire country. Things are going in the wrong direction in an arena of increased risk, namely the cooler and colder weather. I mean, let's go, folks. What about that don't you understand?”
With the holiday season on the verge of kicking into high gear, officials have grown increasingly concerned that cases may skyrocket over the next few months. In fact, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on Thursday urging Americans to reconsider traveling ahead of Thanksgiving, warning that over 1 million cases were reported in the week prior.
And yet, despite the warnings, officials anticipate the advisory will be largely ignored, especially as many continue to hold large gatherings and ignore social-distancing and masking measures.
Recently it was reported that an Ohio wedding became a superspreader event after one-third of the invited guests, including the newlyweds, contracted COVID-19. Elsewhere, in Washington state, a wedding involving over 300 people was linked to some 40 COVID-19 cases.
In some circumstances, people have grown weary of the virus-prevention measures and become skeptical, instead likening COVID-19 to the seasonal flu, as US President Donald Trump did in the early days of the pandemic and reiterated after contracting the respiratory disease himself. Trump later explained to Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward that he “always wanted to play [COVID-19] down” in an effort to not cause public alarm.
Fauci told participants of the editorial meeting that one of the bigger frustrations that “borders on pain” is that “either people don't want to look at the data, or they look at the data and they say it's fake.”
“No, it isn't fake. … This is a global issue. I tell the people who deny or think that this is nothing, do you mean that every single country in Europe is doing the same thing, is making things up? They're not. I mean, it's so obvious,” he said.
Fauci stated that in order to combat the misinformation and skepticism surrounding COVID-19, the US needs to implement a “consistency of message” and try to understand the “divide” on the matter.
At the moment, the US has several COVID-19 vaccine trials ongoing, with candidates from pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna becoming the most promising after reporting over 90% efficacy in preventing the spread of the virus. The first registered vaccine was Russia’s Sputnik V, which researchers have indicated is 92% effective.
