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Top U.S. health officials are trying to focus efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic through asymptomatic spread, which can contribute up to 50% of infections.
NIAID Director Anthony Fauci and US Surgeon General Jerome Adams were at the same time during a series of appearances on Sunday morning talk shows, spreading the message that asymptomatic spread is an uncontrolled element that is at the origin of the severity of the pandemic.
WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 9: U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams (left) and National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins (right) appear before a Senate Committee hearing on Health, Education, Labor and pensions to discuss vaccines and public health protection during the coronavirus pandemic on September 9, 2020 in Washington DC. (Photo by Michael Reynolds – Pool / Getty Images)
“We say it, not to be facetious or have a sound sample or whatever, but you know: shutting down bars, keeping schools open, that’s what we’re really saying,” Fauci told Martha Raddatz on ABC “This Week”. “Obviously, you don’t have a one-size-fits-all solution, but as I have said in the past, and as you correctly cited, the default position should be the best possible, within reason, to keep children in school and bring them back to school. “
Fauci noted that the spread of COVID-19 among children was “low”, especially compared to other regions. Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered all public schools to switch to total virtual learning, a move that drew a strong backlash from parents across the city.
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“The best way to keep children safe in school is to reduce the level of spread in the community.”
Community broadcasting was a term repeated by Fauci and Adams, with Fauci pointing out that “the community level has determined how things work in all areas.”
However, the post focused on the asymptomatic spread – the fact that someone could be a carrier of the virus but would not have any symptoms, indicating that they were feeling well. Asymptomatic carriers can still spread the virus, according to CDC guidelines.
Fox News Sunday host Brett Baier asked Adams about a tweet he posted a few days earlier which boasted a statistic claiming the CDC estimates that “over 50% of all infections are transmitted by people who do not present symptoms “.
“I want people to understand: at the beginning we didn’t think, based on our experience with any other respiratory virus, that we would have this high degree of asymptomatic spread,” Adams told Baier. “We now know that over 50% of people, according to the CDC, who spread this virus in the community look and feel good.”
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attends a Coronavirus Task Force press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, United States, on Friday, April 10, 2020. Photographer: Kevin Dietsch / UPI / Bloomberg via Getty Images
“This is why we want you to know that household gatherings have been such a pervasive event,” Adams added. “These are the opportunities that have led to viral spread.”
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Fauci highlighted the CDC’s attempt to dissuade Americans from traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday – an effort that failed to prevent up to 5 million travelers from moving around the country in the days leading up to Day of Thanksgiving.
“We have tried to get the message across, as difficult as it is not to have large gatherings of individuals and families,” Mr. Fauci told “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd. “But people aren’t going to do that, unfortunately, so what we expect to see as December enters is a push on top of this wave that we’re already seeing.”
Fauci also continued to stress the need for hands-on testing, a “less sensitive” test that is “easy, cheap, maybe even a home test,” which would help provide the CDC and other agencies with a picture clear of the full penetration of the virus.
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“We have the ability to blunt that by doing things without locking, so as not to rush the need to lock,” Fauci added.
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