Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Describes 'Good' Relationship With Fauci While Calling Out 'Mistakes'
The Hill: Trump Says Fauci Is A 'Little Bit Of An Alarmist'
President Trump on Sunday said the nation's top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, is a “little bit of an alarmist” but denied that the White House is running a campaign against him amid rising coronavirus cases in a number of states. Trump made the remark after Chris Wallace, host of “Fox News Sunday,” asked the president to respond to White House deputy chief of staff for communications Daniel Scavino’s Facebook post showing Fauci as a faucet and depicting the expert as a “leaker” and an “alarmist," according to Wallace. (Coleman, 7/19)
Politico: Trump Says His Relationship With 'Alarmist' Fauci Is 'Very Good'
“Dr. Fauci's made some mistakes,” the president in an interview on "Fox News Sunday." “He's a little bit of an alarmist. That's OK. A little bit of an alarmist.” During the sometimes contentious interview, taped Friday at the White House, Trump ticked off a few instances in which he believed the doctor had made some errors. (Rahman, 7/19)
The Hill: Fauci Admonishes Those Flouting Coronavirus Guidelines: 'You're Part Of The Problem'
Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said during a Saturday interview with WebMD's chief medical officer John Whyte that "young people are driving this new surge" in coronavirus cases by "not caring" if they get infected. Fauci said recent data shows the largest age group reporting new COVID-19 infections is at least 15 years younger than the demographic the nation saw a few months ago when New York case numbers peaked in early April. (Deese, 7/18)
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The Hill: NIH Director Said Firing Fauci Would Be 'Unimaginable'
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) director said Sunday that firing top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci would be “unimaginable.” NIH Director Francis Collins told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that no one from the White House has requested he demote or fire Fauci as the infectious disease expert has condemned what many see as White House attacks against him. “Nobody has asked me to do that, and I find that concept unimaginable,” Collins said. (Coleman, 7/19)
