Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Dire Forecast From Health Officials: Most Of Us Will Get Covid
CNN: Omicron Variant Will 'Find Just About Everybody,' Fauci Says, But Vaccinated People Will Still Fare Better
As the Omicron variant spreads like wildfire across the United States, it's likely just about everybody will be exposed to the strain, but vaccinated people will still fare better, the nation's leading infectious disease expert said Tuesday. "Omicron, with its extraordinary, unprecedented degree of efficiency of transmissibility, will ultimately find just about everybody," Dr. Anthony Fauci told J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Those who have been vaccinated ... and boosted would get exposed. Some, maybe a lot of them, will get infected but will very likely, with some exceptions, do reasonably well in the sense of not having hospitalization and death." (Caldwell, Hanna, McPhillips and Maxouris, 1/12)
The Washington Post: FDA Head Says 'Most People Are Going To Get Covid' At Hearing With Fauci
“I think it’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now,” said Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, “which is most people are going to get covid. ”Woodcock pitched this as being a necessary acknowledgment when it comes to charting the path forward — recognizing that the focus now needs to be on averting the worst that widespread infections could bring in the near term. (Blake, 1/11)
Dr. Fauci and Sen. Rand Paul have another testy exchange —
NBC News: Fauci Says Sen. Paul's Attacks 'Kindle The Crazies' Who Have Threatened His Life
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, sparred with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., at a hearing Tuesday after Paul attacked him for appearing to disagree with scientists who said the coronavirus originated in a lab in China. "What happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there, and I have threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children, with obscene phone calls because people are lying about me," Fauci said at the Senate hearing. (Finn, 1/11)
CBS News: Fauci Derides Rand Paul In Senate Hearing As COVID Cases Rise: "You Are Distorting Everything About Me"
During a Senate committee hearing on the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Senator Rand Paul had a heated exchange with Fauci accusing Paul of "distorting everything about me" after the Republican from Kentucky accused Fauci of organizing a smear campaign to denounce conservative academics who had opposed shutdown measures in 2020. ... "What happens when [Paul] gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there, and I have … threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children with obscene phone calls because people are lying about me," Fauci said. (Larkin, 1/11)
The Hill: Hot Mic Catches Fauci Calling GOP Senator 'A Moron'
White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci was caught on a hot mic Tuesday calling Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) "a moron" during his testimony before the Senate Health Committee on the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The tense exchange came as Marshall questioned Fauci about disclosing more of his personal finances to Congress. Marshall cited a Forbes story that reported that Fauci is the highest-paid federal employee, earning $434,312 in 2020. (Prieb, 1/11)
