Fauci: Trust Science and Get the COVID-19 Vaccine | News

Richmond — An attempt to educate the leaders of the Black Church in the Richmond region about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began a few months ago, won a public health rock star as its guest on Friday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the most prominent faces of federal officials in the last decade of the COVID-19 pandemic, worshiped on Friday since last spring. And participated in the discussion about the facts. According to Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Ministry of Health.

Fauci’s main message was clear.

“We want all of you to be vaccinated for your own safety, your family’s safety, and your community,” Forch said in a one-hour presentation and Q & A session. Said.

Forch said the United States was the most devastating country in the world since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.

“A new record is set almost every day,” Forch said of the number of pandemics in the United States, pointing out a total of 21.3 million cases and 359,840 deaths reported as of Thursday. On Thursday, 4,111 people died, 280,000 cases and 150,000 were hospitalized in the country during the day.

Federal health officials announced on Friday that the country had seen 400,000 new COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 also shows a large disparity with American colored races, Fauci said. This is because many workers who cannot work in remote areas and have to come into contact with the population are black and Hispanic.

Colored people also have a higher incidence of diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions than Caucasians, which means they have a higher mortality rate from COVID-19 infection.

“It’s a double pain for black and brown people,” Fauci said.

Comparing the US prevalence of blacks, Hispanics, and whites per 100,000, Forch says 564 per 100,000 blacks and 644 per 100,000 Hispanics. The infection rate for Caucasians is 184 per 100,000.

According to Forch, COVID-19 mortality rates are 132 per 100,000 blacks and 102 per 100,000 Hispanics nationwide. He added that only 81 whites per 100,000 die from COVID-19.

According to Forch, the COVID-19 vaccine has only appeared in the last few months, but research into vaccines for diseases associated with a broad family of coronaviruses was founded during the Clinton administration by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It started in the late 1990s.

The first coronavirus study, including the identification of viral protein spikes by black researcher Kyzzmekia Corbett, allowed pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna to be ready for vaccine testing by the fall of 2020, Forch said. ..

Coordination between NIAID and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies has also ensured coordinated trials and protocols, Fauci said.

The black community is legitimately concerned about the safety of the vaccine as a result of the Tuskegee Syme poisoning experiment on unknown black men, but Forch said that medical and testing protocols have never done so in medical trials in the United States. Said that it is guaranteed not to happen

He added that the class of mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna do not use live or weakened viruses and do not affect human genes. Other types of vaccines are expected to show similar effects.

“They are 94 to 95% effective in protecting against illness and almost 100% effective in protecting against serious COVID-19 illness,” Fauci said, with the effect of receiving two doses of the vaccine. I added that it depends.

The safety of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines has been demonstrated in trials and use since the vaccine received urgent approval in late 2020. Serious reactions to the vaccine occur in about 11 of 1 million vaccinations, most of which are found only in people who are prone to severe allergies. It reacts in other situations as well.

Nationally, Forch said that the highest priority groups in the population, including healthcare workers, front-line workers, the elderly, people with underlying illnesses and weakened immunity, should be vaccinated in April. Said that. It will enable “open season” vaccination for all in the United States, he said, but until 75-80% of the population is still vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. Health precautions need to be continued.

“Public health measures need to be adhered to until this outbreak is completely eliminated. I believe that in the 2021 situation, it will probably be fully feasible towards the end of the year,” Forch said. ..

Fauci said Americans should listen to the best scientific information, not conspiracy theories.

“I try to be there to inform people based on solid scientific data and evidence,” Fauci said.

Mentioning a coup attempt against Congress on Wednesday, Forch said division among Americans was a problem, even when it came to dealing with COVID-19.

“It presupposes some degree of politics,” Fauci said. “Whether you’re wearing a mask or not, it’s a political statement … if you believe it’s a hoax. It’s certainly not a hoax.”