Fauci: 'Something very strange' about COVID
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's senior official for infectious diseases, predicts the United States could begin to achieve early stages of herd immunity against the deadly coronavirus by late spring or summer. And if that happens, Fauci anticipates, "we could really turn this thing around" toward the end of 2021.
Mon, December 14, 2020, 3:33 PM EST
"I have not seen anything where you have a virus that in 40% of the people has no symptoms, and those who have symptoms, 80% of them have very mild to moderate symptoms that don't require any significant medical intervention. And then you have 20-25% of people who are devastated," Fauci told The Center for Strategic and International Studies' (CSIS) Senior Vice President Stephen Morrison on Monday.
"There's something very strange about a virus that in most people barely bothers them, and in others it kills them. We still don't know why that's the case right now. We need to find that out," he added.
Fauci's remarks came after some of the first U.S. healthcare workers received doses of the coronavirus vaccine and as the death toll in the U.S. crossed 300,000.
Video Transcript
STEPHEN MORRISON: We started with zero knowledge of this virus. OK, what did we learn?
ANTHONY FAUCI: Well, we've learned that this is one of the most, if not the most, unusual virus that any of us have ever dealt with. Certainly, in my 36 years as director of the Institute, I have not seen anything where you have a virus that in the-- 40% of the people has no symptoms, and those who have symptoms, 80% of them, have very mild to moderate symptoms that don't require any significant medical intervention. And then you have 20% to 25% of people who are devastated, as attested by the almost 300,000 deaths.
There's something very strange about a virus that in most people barely bothers them and in others it kills them. We still don't understand why that's the case. Right now, we need to find that out.