The moment that we live in right now is pretty surreal. We’re in the midst of a global pandemic and we shouldn’t be leaving our homes.
At the same time, people have so many questions about the virus, how to fight back against it and how to weather everything else that’s going on overall.
Warriors superstar Steph Curry helped share some very important information earlier today via an Instagram Live with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and an advisor to President Trump
The session was just under 30 minutes and had 50,000 people tuned in including former president Barack Obama.
Did you happen to miss it? Well, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered right here. Here’s a quick rundown of what you missed. (Curry’s bolded questions have been edited for length.)
What needs to happen to determine when mass large gatherings are okay again?
Fauci: “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 normal life. They got to be careful they don’t reintroduce the virus, but they’re on the other end of the curve.”
What’s your assessment of the testing process?
Fauci: “That’s been a real issue early on. Several weeks ago we were not in a place where we needed to be or we wanted to be. We did not have as much accessibility to testing as we now have or we will have going forward. Right now, there are literally hundreds of thousands of tests that are out there now mostly because we got the private sector involved. The companies who know how to make it and make it well, make large amounts so we’re going in the right direction.”
Why is it so challenging to get a test?
Fauci: “Well, there should be nothing now that’s inhibiting it. But originally, the system, the way it’s set up, Steph, was not geared for this kind of massive capability of instantaneously, safely getting a test…Right now the system is changed, primarily, because it’s being handed over to the commercial firms that know how to do it.”
What do you do if you have flu-like symptoms?
Fauci: “If someone, right now, gets flu-like symptoms, a fever, aches and a bit of a cough, the first thing you do is stay at home. Don’t go to the emergency room because then you might be infecting others. Get on the phone with a physician, nurse or health care provider. Get instructions from them on what to do and, if available, you can get a test. But the critical issue is don’t flood the emergency rooms.”
Can you get the virus a second time if you recovered from it?
Fauci: “We haven’t done the specific testing to determine that, but if this acts like every virus similar to it that we know the chances are overwhelming that if you get infected, recover from infection, that you are not going to get infected with the same virus. Which means that you can safely go out into the community and feel immune.”
Will the virus go away in the summer?
Fauci: “As the weather gets warmer, viruses tend to do poorly in warm, moisture weather and do quite well in cold, dry weather….The only issue is, Steph, that we don’t know. This is the first time we’ve ever dealt with this virus. So it’s not an unreasonable assumption that it’ll go down, but you don’t want to count on it.”
What is the timeline for developing a vaccine? I’ve heard it’s 12 to 18 months.
Fauci: “We have started on the development of a vaccine faster than ever in the history of any virus from the time it was discovered and the time we actually made it and put it into a trial…The first thing you’ve got to do is make sure it’s safe. When you find out it’s safe and that it induces the kind of response you want it to, then you do it in a lot of people. The first trial is, like, 45 people. Then you go into hundreds, if not thousands, of people. That’s what takes the extra 8 months…When you add up the three or four months for phase 1, then the extra eight months, you get about a year or a year and a half. If we really push, we hope that we will know by the time we get into next winter whether or not we have something that works. But vaccine is going to be totally relevant if it cycles into another season. Which, frankly Steph, I think it’s going to do…Vaccines are going to be important for the next time around. Not for what we’re dealing with now.”
We need to make it clear that people are not overreacting to this, right?
Fauci: “We need to make that point… This is serious business. We are not overreacting.”
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