Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci Predicts 'Pain And Suffering' If More Don't Get Jab, But No Lockdowns
AP: Fauci: More 'Pain And Suffering' Ahead As COVID Cases Rise
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Sunday that more “pain and suffering” is on the horizon as COVID-19 cases climb again and officials plead with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, also said he doesn’t foresee additional lockdowns in the U.S. because he believes enough people are vaccinated to avoid a recurrence of last winter. However, he said not enough are inoculated to “crush the outbreak” at this point. (Mattise, 8/1)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Surge Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better, Experts Predict
The newly resurgent coronavirus could spark 140,000 to 300,000 cases a day in the United States come August, fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant and the widespread resumption of normal activities, disease trackers predict. The nation is already reporting more than 70,000 cases a day, according to The Washington Post’s rolling seven-day average — an increase of nearly 60,000 in the daily average in less than six weeks. Cases, measured as that rolling average, have risen to levels last seen in February. (Guarino and Diamond, 7/31)
CNN: Expert Hopes The Rise In Covid-19 Vaccinations Means The US Is Waking Up To The Dangers Of The Delta Variant
The Delta variant is wreaking havoc through much of the United States, but the "silver lining" is that more Americans appear to be at the tipping point of understanding the importance of Covid-19 vaccinations, one expert said. "People are waking up to this," Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins told CNN Sunday. "That's what desperately needs to happen if we are going to get this Delta variant put back in its place, because right now it is having a pretty big party in the middle of the country." (Holcombe, 8/2)
In other news from Drs. Fauci and Collins —
CBS News: Fauci Says Unvaccinated Americans Are "Propagating This Outbreak" As Delta Spreads
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Sunday that Americans who remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus are "propagating" the latest outbreak of cases of the highly contagious Delta variant. "We have 100 million people in this country … who are eligible to be vaccinated, who are not vaccinated," Fauci said in an interview with "Face the Nation." "We've really got to get those people to change their minds, make it easy for them, convince them, do something to get them to be vaccinated because they are the ones that are propagating this outbreak." (Quinn, 8/1)
Politico: Fauci: 'I Don't Think We're Going To See Lockdowns'
The nation's top infectious diseases expert said Sunday he did not expect the U.S. will need to reenter lockdown, as the Delta strain of the coronavirus drives surges in new cases across the country. "I don't think we're going to see lockdowns," Anthony Fauci said on ABC's "This Week." "I think we have enough of the percentage of people in the country, not enough to crush the outbreak, but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter," he added. (Tamborrino, 8/1)
Fox News: Fauci 'Respectfully Disagrees' That Masks Are A 'Choice': 'Infection Is Impacting Everyone'
White House Chief Health Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has rejected the idea that face masks are a "personal choice" in the face of the increasingly severe delta variant of the coronavirus. The United States on Thursday recorded almost 80,000 new COVID-19 cases – well below the January peak of nearly 300,000 new daily cases, but a stark rise from a month ago when daily cases were under 10,000. (Aitken, 8/1)
The Hill: NIH Director: Mask Guidance Is 'Mostly About Protecting The Unvaccinated'
Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, said on Sunday that the new mask guidance released last week urging fully vaccinated people to wear face coverings indoors in coronavirus hot spots is “mostly about protecting the unvaccinated.” “Can you clear this up? Do most vaccinated Americans need to wear mask indoors in order to protect themselves and other vaccinated Americans, or is this primarily about protecting unvaccinated Americans, including children under 12 or people who are refusing to get vaccinated?” host Jake Tapper asked Collins on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (Schnell, 8/1)
Bloomberg: Fauci Says Shots Work Despite Cases Among Fully Vaccinated
Anthony Fauci, the U.S.’s top infectious-disease doctor, said Covid-19 vaccines work extremely well and that a return to the lockdowns of 2020 is unlikely despite reports of recent outbreaks among fully vaccinated people. “The likelihood of your getting a severe outcome of the infection is very low” when a person is fully inoculated, Fauci said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “It is much more likely that you will be either without symptoms or minimally symptomatic. So the vaccine is doing what you want it to do. It’s protecting people from getting sick.” (Fisher, 8/1)
