Anthony Fauci on COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

“I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Let's try and get it corrected for the next time.”

“I don't think that we are going to get out of this completely unscathed, I think that this is going to be one of those things we look back on and say boy, that was bad.”

“Even before we knew it was a coronavirus, I said it certainly sounds like a coronavirus-SARS type thing. As soon as it was identified, I called a meeting of top-level people and said, 'Let's start working on a vaccine right now.'”

“It could be really, really bad. I don't think it's gonna be, because I think we'd be able to do the kind of mitigation. It could be mild. I don't think it's going to be that mild either. It's really going to depend on how we mobilize.”

“I don't regret that. At that time, there was a paucity of equipment that our health care providers needed -- who put themselves daily in harm's way of taking care of people who are ill. We did not want to divert masks and PPE away from them, to be used by the people.”

“It's really, really tough because you have to be honest with the American public and you don't want to scare the hell out of them. And then other times, in attempts to calm people down, [leaders] have had people be complacent about it. This is particularly problematic in a 'gotcha' town like Washington.”

“Greg Kelly: Bottom line. We don't have to worry about this one, right? Anthony Fauci: Well, you know, obviously you need to take it seriously, and do the kinds of things that the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security are doing. But this is not a major threat for the people of the United States and this is not something that the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about.”

“It’s a very, very low risk to the United States, but it’s something that we as public health officials need to take very seriously... It isn’t something the American public needs to worry about or be frightened about. Because we have ways of preparing and screening of people coming in [from China]. And we have ways of responding - like we did with this one case in Seattle, Washington, who had traveled to China and brought back the infection. [...] We’ve just got to make sure that we are totally prepared [since] infectious diseases will continue to emerge on the human species. And we’ve got to be essentially perpetually prepared.”

“Jonathan LaPook: There’s a lot of confusion among people, and misinformation, surrounding face masks. Can you discuss that? Anthony Fauci: The masks are important for someone who’s infected to prevent them from infecting someone else… Right now in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks. LaPook: You’re sure of it? Because people are listening really closely to this. Fauci: …There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face. LaPook: And can you get some schmutz, sort of staying inside there? Fauci: Of course, of course. But, when you think masks, you should think of health care providers needing them and people who are ill. The people who, when you look at the films of foreign countries and you see 85% of the people wearing masks — that’s fine, that’s fine. I’m not against it. If you want to do it, that’s fine. LaPook: But it can lead to a shortage of masks? Fauci: Exactly, that’s the point. It could lead to a shortage of masks for the people who really need it.”