Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci Calls Out Trump Campaign For Using Old Quote Out Of Context In Ad
CNN: Fauci Says He Was Taken Out Of Context In New Trump Campaign Ad Touting Coronavirus Response
Dr. Anthony Fauci did not consent to being featured in a new advertisement from the Trump campaign touting President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the nation's leading infectious disease expert told CNN his words were taken out of context. "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials," Fauci said in a statement provided exclusively to CNN when asked if he agreed to be featured in the ad. (Collins, 10/11)
Politico: Fauci Criticizes Inclusion In Trump Campaign Ad
The new ad, titled “Carefully,” was released after Trump’s discharge from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he was being treated for coronavirus last weekend. The ad touts the strength of Trump’s leadership in response to the pandemic. An edited clip of Fauci shows him saying, “I can’t imagine that … anybody could be doing more.” (Cohen, 10/11)
PolitiFact: Trump Ad Takes Fauci Out Of Context
The comment from Fauci was in reference to the White House coronavirus task force and the broader government response, not to Trump. It's also almost seven months old. ... The ad also flashes clips of Trump wearing masks — a measure he has repeatedly criticized and taken sparingly in public settings since his first time wearing one in public in July. (McCarthy, 10/11)
In other news from Dr. Fauci —
San Francisco Chronicle: Returning To Normal After COVID-19 Won’t Be Easy, Fauci Warns UC Berkeley Panel
Public officials will need to determine who receives the first coronavirus vaccines once they become available, Dr. Anthony Fauci told a virtual gathering of the nonprofit Berkeley Forum. A “good vaccine” might mean a gradual return to a sense of normalcy toward the end of next year, Fauci said Thursday evening. At the same time, the highly regarded director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases cautioned that such a return will not be as easy as “turning a light switch on and off.” A coronavirus vaccine will not be 99% effective, and the majority of people likely will not be vaccinated, he said. (Arredondo, 10/9)
