To Dr. Anthony Fauci, the coronavirus pandemic is his “worst nightmare.”
During a virtual recorded appearance for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization International Convention on Tuesday, Fauci said, “Ebola was scary, but Ebola would never be easily transmitted,” adding, “HIV, as important as it is, was drawn out and over an extended period of time.”
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, “Now we have something that turned out to be my worst nightmare. In the period of four months, it has devastated the world.”
He also noted that the rapid spread of the virus was “unexpected” and “it just took over the planet.” He added that “it isn’t over yet.”
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is now describing the coronavirus pandemic as his “worst nightmare” and warns that the outbreak is far from over. @tomcostellonbc has more. pic.twitter.com/gnzRUMM1Li
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 10, 2020
Additionally, Fauci pointed out the uncertainty of the long-term effects of the infection from COVID-19.
“The thing that we don’t yet fully appreciate is what happens when you get infected and you get [the] serious disease and you recover? What are the long-term durable negative effects of that infection?” he said.
He added, “We don’t know the extent of full recovery or partial recovery, so there’s a lot we need to learn.”
Regarding the vaccine field, Fauci said that that there will be “more than one winner” because “we’re going to need vaccines for the entire world — billions and billions of doses.”
Fauci recently revealed that his meetings, that were once held “every single day,” with President Donald Trump have “dramatically decreased,” as IJR reported.
“I was meeting with him four times a week back, a month or so ago. But as you probably noticed, that the task force meetings have not occurred as often lately,” Fauci previously told Stat News, adding, “And certainly, my meetings with the president have been dramatically decreased.”
The U.S. has over 2,046,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 114,167 deaths and 788,885 recoveries, as of Wednesday morning.
U.S. states have begun reopening their economies, the phase of the reopening varying from state to state. For the week ending on June 7, 21 states saw a reported increase in cases, as IJR reported.