Title:Georgetown Students and Fauci Explore Pandemic Policy

In July, Georgetown students engaged in a live virtual conversation with Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. The renowned researcher offered an update on the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for public policy.

More than 135,000 people tuned in to the event, co-sponsored by Georgetown’s Global Health Initiative, the Kalmanovitz Initiative on Labor and the Working Poor, the Institute of Politics and Public Service at the McCourt School of Public Policy (GU Politics), and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.

“This is a pandemic of historic proportions,” said Fauci. “When history looks back on it, it will be comparable to what we saw in 1918.”

Health Law LLM student Alanoud Alsulaiman (L’21) opened the session, which featured moderators John Monahan (C’83, L’87) of Georgetown’s Global Health Initiative and GU Politics’ Mo Elleithee (SFS’94). In her introductory remarks, Alsulaiman pointed to the unique risks and responsibilities students and youth bear in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. The ensuing discussion covered the current state of the pandemic, vaccine development, protecting vulnerable populations, and more.

When asked how citizens could find reliable information about the virus, Fauci urged viewers to turn to trusted scientists.

“For the most part, you can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I am one of them,” said Fauci, a graduate of Jesuit schools. “I would stick with respected medical authorities who have a track record of telling the truth, who have a track record of giving information and policy and recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data.”

Fauci said that while young people may be tempted to ignore guidelines because they may have lower chances of getting infected than vulnerable populations, that line of thinking is what spreads the pandemic and “is part of the problem and not the solution.”

“Think about your societal responsibility,” Fauci said. “We are all in this together. Everybody has a place and role in getting this outbreak under control.”

In response to a question from Claire Cushman (C’22) about the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on poor communities and communities of color, Fauci said that one thing the federal government can do now is concentrate resources to increase access to testing and health care in the communities most affected.

In the long term, Fauci said it requires a decade-long commitment to address and eliminate health disparities.

Fauci explained that if a person is infected and recovers, it is likely that the immune system eliminates the virus, but no one knows how long that immunity will last. Studies are underway to examine whether getting the infection a second time could lead to enhanced or worse symptoms, he added.

“No vaccine is going to be 100 percent protective,” said Fauci in response to a question about the specific timeline for vaccine development and wide distribution. The hope, he explained, is that with a combination of people already exposed and a vaccine that is anywhere from 70–75 percent effective, there will be enough herd immunity to reduce people’s worry about becoming infected.

Watch the full discussion below.