Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday dismissed accusations that he deliberately changed the targets when the country would vaccinate enough people against COVID-19 to achieve collective immunity, saying he was previously offering “inquiries”.
Reported by some media outlets as a “confession”, Fauci told The New York Times: “When the polls said that only about half of all Americans would get the vaccine, I was saying that collective immunity would take 70 to 75 percent … So, when more recent polls said 60 percent or more would accept, I thought, ‘I can raise a little bit’, so I went to 80.85. “
In subsequent interviews, Fauci focused on the other part of the Times report in which he compared COVID-19 to measles, saying at the time that “I bet my house that COVID is not as contagious as measles”.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attends a press conference of the Coronavirus Task Force at the White House in Washington, DC, Friday, April 10, 2020. Photographer: Kevin Dietsch / UPI / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Fauci appeared in “Estado da União” on Sunday morning, reiterating to CNN’s Dana Bash that he based his numbers on measles – not on polls.
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“The measles vaccine is about 98% effective; the COVID-19 vaccine is about 94%,” said Fauci.
“When you reach less than 90% of the measles-vaccinated population, you start to see a breakthrough against herd immunity, people start to become infected, as we saw in upstate New York and in New York City, with the orthodox Jewish group, when we had the measles outbreak. “
“I made a calculation that COVID-19 is not as transmissible as measles,” added Fauci, noting that measles is the “most transmissible” virus.
Instead, Fauci said he made a “guest estimate” and remained firm that a more realistic range would be 75-80% of the American population that needs to be vaccinated before the country achieves collective immunity.
“I think 75-80% for herd immunity for COVID-19 is a reasonable estimate and, in fact, most of my epidemiology colleagues agree with me,” explained Fauci.
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Fauci said he is doing everything possible to encourage people, both in the United States and worldwide, to get the vaccine. He said he uses any discussion or interview to encourage people to reach the herd’s immunity limit.
When pressed about when he thinks this would happen, Fauci speculated that the United States might see a “hunting season” – the point at which the vaccine is offered to the general public – around the end of March.
Starting vaccination for the general public in April would mean achieving herd immunity in late summer, he added, despite vaccination numbers supposedly lower than Operation Warp Speed projected a month ago, when vaccines were still waiting. approval.
“Whenever you launch a big program that is a comprehensive vaccine program – with a brand new vaccine like this – at the beginning, it starts off slowly and starts to gain momentum,” said Fauci.
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“I am very confident as we gain more momentum, as we transition from December to January and then February and March, I believe we will achieve the projection.”