Part of the reason COVID-19 is so scary is that, by nature of it being a new thing that humans have to deal with, the amount of information available is rather scarce. While it’s encouraging that scientists are learning more and more about this novel coronavirus every single day, there is still a whole lot that needs to be learned, particularly when it comes to how this gets treated, even beyond the development of a vaccine.
Perhaps the best source of information on all of this is Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci has become increasingly popular in recent weeks for his adherence to facts as people want to know as much as possible about the virus, how it spreads, and how to fight it. He’s been interviewed on television, in print, and just about everywhere in between, with his latest media appearance coming via the Instagram account of Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry on Thursday afternoon.
Fauci shares plenty of information that we’ve all heard during his half-hour sit-down with Curry, like how trends in the United States show that young people can get the virus and be at a higher risk to fall seriously ill than the numbers may have indicated in places like China, even though that is “still a very, very small minority.” Regardless, with that being the case, the role that young people play in this is still awfully important, as they can still carry the virus and unknowingly spread it.
“We really do have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable ones,” Fauci said. “And the vulnerables are the elderly and those with underlying conditions, we need to make sure they are clearly protected from this.”
Curry also asked, unsurprisingly, about when the NBA will be able to return from its indefinite hiatus. He wanted to know what Fauci will be looking for specifically to believe that things like sporting events will be safe for all of those who want to attend, and Fauci made it clear that there is one thing in particular.
“That’s what we deal with on a daily basis when we sit down in the the Situation Room at the White House every day to go over that,” Fauci said. “What you need is you need to see the trajectory of the curve start to come down. We’ve seen that in China, they went up and down, they’re starting to get back to some normal life. They gotta be careful they don’t reintroduce the virus into China, but they’re on the other end of the curve. Korea is doing that, they’re starting to come back down. Europe, particularly Italy, is in a terrible situation. They’re still going way up.
“The United States is a big country, and we have so many different reasons,” Fauci continued. “Like New York City, right now, is having a terrible time, and yet there are places in the country that are doing really quite well, you can probably identify people, contact trace and get them out of circulation. Whereas in New York City, it’s doing what’s called mitigation, trying to prevent, as best you can, the spread. So a direct answer to your question: We can start thinking about getting back to some degree of normality when the country as a whole has turned that corner and start coming down. Then you can pinpoint cases much more easily than getting overwhelmed by cases, which is what’s going on in New York City.”
The entire thing is worth a listen, something that is oftentimes the case whenever Fauci gets a runway to dive into COVID-19. As for Curry, this isn’t the only coronavirus-related thing he has done, as he and his wife, Ayesha, have worked to make sure children impacted by school closings in their area have been able to get meals that they’d normally only get during the school day.
