Dr. Fauci Warns Premature Reopening Amid COVID-19 Will Cause 'Needless Suffering and Death'

Trump and several state leaders, meanwhile, have continued to push for the reopening of businesses and other institutions.

May 12, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading voice of reason on COVID-19 and thus a consistent target of Trump-related ire, is making sure the U.S. is aware of his stance regarding hasty pushes toward reopening.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times reported late Monday that Dr. Fauci had relayed his message via e-mail, noting that he was planning to share a similar one with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Speaking on the potential dangers of "prematurely" diving into so-called "reopening" measures, Fauci was quite clear. "If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to Open America Again, then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country," he said. "This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal."

As the Times report makes clear, this not only marks a dramatic contrast to what the Trump administration has been saying in recent weeks, but it was also met with immediate attempts at undermining by several Republicans. As of May 11, the CDC reported more than 1.3 million total cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. Per the most recent data, just under 80,000 deaths have also been confirmed.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the U.N. Economic and Social Council that seven to eight “top” vaccine potentials are being worked on, with hopes that a recent 12- to 18-month development estimate can be shortened. During a Senate coronavirus hearing Tuesday, Fauci spoke on the vaccines, saying "we hope to know in the late fall and early winter” what may viable. “There's also the possibility of negative consequences, with certain vaccines can actually enhance the negative effect of the infection,” he said.

Republican Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander asked Fauci if treatments could advance quickly enough to plan for college classes safely starting in August. The doctor concluded that’s “a bridge too far” to rely on.

USA Today reports that the top vaccine candidates were picked from over 100 projects. “The effort is being financed by $8 billion in funding pledged by leaders from 40 countries and organizations, although the U.S. is not among them,” the newspaper writes, adding that more funds are still needed. Remdesivir treatments are being studied closely, a 31 percent increase in recovery speed has been noted. Fauci cautioned the number is “statistically significant, but really modest.”

Meanwhile Wuhan, China will reportedly test every one of its 11 million residents in a 10-day span.