Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'It's Not Over': Fauci Clarifies That Pandemic Is In 'Transition' But Not Done
AP: Fauci: US In 'A Different Moment' But Pandemic Not Over
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday the coronavirus is under better control in the United States. but the pandemic isn’t over — and the challenge is how to keep improving the situation. “We are in a different moment of the pandemic,” said Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, in an interview with The Associated Press. After a brutal winter surge, “we’ve now decelerated and transitioned into more of a controlled phase,” he said. “By no means does that mean the pandemic is over.” His comments came a day after he said on the PBS “NewsHour” that the U.S. was “out of the pandemic phase” and also told The Washington Post that the country was finally “out of the full-blown explosive pandemic phase.” (Neergaard, 4/27)
CNN: The US Is In 'Transition Phase' Of Pandemic, Fauci Says
On Wednesday, Fauci told CNN that his comments had been mischaracterized by some to mean that the pandemic is over, "which is not what I said." "We're not over the pandemic. Don't let anybody get the misinterpretation that the pandemic is over, but what we are in is a different phase of the pandemic," he said. "A phase that's a transition phase, hopefully headed toward more of a control where you can actually get back to some form of normality without total disruption of society, economically, socially, school-wise, etc." (Thomas and Goodman, 4/27)
CBS News: Fauci Won't Attend White House Correspondents' Dinner, Says Pandemic "Is Not Over"
Fauci stressed that the U.S. is still dealing with a pandemic, even as the country has entered a new phase over the past several months. The difference is that it's not as "acute" and "accelerated" as earlier in the pandemic, which saw more than thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of new cases each day. Fauci described where the U.S. is now as a "decelerated" and much more "controlled" phase. He pointed to the number of therapeutics and vaccines that are available, including Paxlovid, which he believes will make a huge difference as it becomes more readily accessible. Improved treatments and vaccines are why the U.S. is in much better shape than other parts of the world still dealing with more serious COVID-19 situations, like China and Hong Kong, he noted. (Jiang, 4/27)
Fauci also spoke to NPR about why masks are such a flashpoint —
NPR: Why Are Masks Such A Big Deal For So Many? Psychologists Have Thoughts
To mask or not to mask continues to be a divisive question. We get into the psychology of why. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gretchen Chapman, and Steven Taylor join us for the conversation. (4/27)
