Fauci says Sen. Rand Paul has repeatedly misconstrued facts about the pandemic
From CNN's Nicky Robertson
Alex Edelman/Pool/Getty Images
Republican Sen. Rand Paul challenged Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, over whether coronavirus restrictions are effective in curbing the spread of the disease.
Fauci was quick to respond to Paul’s comparison of the US and Sweden’s response to curbing the virus, and Paul's suggestion that their death rate is lower because they had fewer restrictions. Fauci said it was inappropriate to compare the US and Sweden, and defended the US response.
“I don’t regret saying that the only way we could have really stopped the explosion of infection, was by essentially, when I say shutting down, I mean essentially having the physical separation and kind of recommendations that we made,” Fauci said.
The Kentucky lawmaker then went on to claim that Fauci was a “big fan of Cuomo and the shutdown in New York.”
“You’ve misconstrued that, senator, and you’ve done that repeatedly in the past,” Fauci fired back. “They got hit very badly and they made some mistakes.”
Paul continued to push back against the infectious disease expert.
Fauci told the committee: “This happens with Sen. Rand all the time.”
He then spoke directly to Paul, saying, “you are not listening to what the director of the CDC said” about immunity rates in New York.
Public can trust CDC guidelines despite multiple reversals, chief says
From CNN's Ali Main
Graeme Jennings/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, addressed recent reversals in his agency's guidance on both coronavirus testing and transmission on Wednesday, assuring lawmakers that the public can trust information from the nation's top health agency.
Redfield testified on Wednesday that the intent of a controversial revision in testing guidance was not to limit testing, but rather to "re-engage the medical and public health community" in the process "so that there was a public health action that happened as a consequence of every test."
On Aug. 26, the CDC altered its testing guidance to say some people without symptoms may not need to be tested, even if they've been in close contact with someone known to have the virus. CNN reported the sudden change came as a result of pressure from the upper ranks of the Trump administration, according to a federal health official close to the process.
Redfield put out a statement the next day, saying the agency was "placing an emphasis on testing individuals with symptomatic illness" and other vulnerable populations with the change.
"It became progressively apparent that the guidelines were not interpreted in the manner in which we had intended them to be interpreted, and that's what led me to realize that we had to put out a clarification to make it explicitly clear that we believe very much that asymptomatic transmission is an important part of the transmission cycle of this virus," Redfield told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, concurred with Redfield that the guidance was "widely misinterpreted."
The agency rolled back this change on Friday, once again stressing that anyone who has been in contact with an infected person should be tested.
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the committee, also pressed Redfield on the CDC's abrupt reversal on guidance about how coronavirus is transmitted in which it removed language about airborne transmission it had posted just days earlier.
"So here is my question to you, if I want the best guidance on the latest science so I can protect myself and my family, can I trust CDC's website to give me that information?" Murray asked.
"Yes," Redfield said, going on to emphasize his agency's commitment to providing Americans with the best public health recommendations possible.
"We're committed to data and science and to give the American public the best public health recommendations we can based on that data and science, and be open, if necessary, if the data and science changes, to modify that guidance based on that new data, but we are committed to data and science and that will be the grounding of how we make these recommendations," Redfield told the committee.
12:03 p.m. ET, September 23, 2020
We "need to be careful" about long-term effects Covid-19 might leave behind, Fauci warns
From CNN's Amanda Watts
Graeme Jennings/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told lawmakers we “need to be careful” about what long-term effects Covid-19 might leave with people for the rest of their lives.
Fauci told the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday, that a recent study in non-athletes who have recovered from Covid-19, shows that in their MRIs “they found that about 60 to 70% of them had indication of inflammatory disease in the heart. Interestingly, they were relatively asymptomatic.”
“I think we need to be careful and just watch what happens because one of the possibilities that could develop, is that a) it could clear up, and they have no problem for the rest of their lives,” Fauci said.
“The other things is that they could wind up when you have inflammation, you could have scarring, that could lead to arrhythmias later on, or that could be lead that could lead to cardiomyopathies,” he explained.
“It’s something we really need to keep our eye out on.”
11:59 a.m. ET, September 23, 2020
"More than 90% of the population remains susceptible" to Covid-19, CDC director says
From CNN Health’s Amanda Watts
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during a US Senate Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Wednesday. Alex Edelman/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a majority of Americans remain susceptible to Covid-19.
Speaking to the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday, Redfield said, “CDC is in the process of a very large, sequential study across the entire United States, measuring serology.”
“The preliminary results on the first round show that a majority of our nation – more than 90% of the population – remains susceptible,” he said.
“It varies in different geographic parts from states,” he said. “We’ll have that finalized and probably published in the next week or so.”
“But it does show that a majority of Americans are still susceptible to this virus,” Redfield said.
See the moment here:
11:28 a.m. ET, September 23, 2020
FDA will not authorize vaccine that "we would not feel comfortable giving to our families," chief says
From CNN's Amanda Watts
Pool
Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, on Wednesday made a commitment to America that “FDA will not authorize or approve a vaccine that we would not feel comfortable giving to our families.”
“FDA will not authorize or approve any Covid-19 vaccine before it has met the agency's rigorous expectations for safety and effectiveness. Decisions to authorize or approve any such vaccine or therapeutic will be made by the dedicated career staff at FDA, through our thorough review processes, and science will guide our decisions," Hahn promised the Senate Health Committee.
“FDA will not permit any pressure from anyone to change that,” he committed.
Hahn said he “will fight for science” and “will put the interest of the American people before anything else.”
Watch:
11:01 a.m. ET, September 23, 2020
US is at "an inflection point" when it comes to testing, Trump's Covid-19 testing czar says
From CNN's Amanda Watts
Pool
Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the US Department of Health and Human Services, said the US has performed more than 106 million tests for Covid-19 since the pandemic began.
Speaking to members of the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday, Giroir said on 10 separate days, the US performed more than 1 million tests per day.
Giroir said we are now at an “inflection point” when it comes to testing.
“This month we will have available, on average, 3 million tests per day – nearly half of which will be rapid point of care,” he said.
Watch:
11:03 a.m. ET, September 23, 2020
CDC head says young people are "major contributors to the spread of Covid-19"
Pool
The Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield stressed that while young people may be less likely to become seriously ill from Covid-19, they can still spread the virus.
Redfield, speaking at a Senate hearing, said 18- to 25-year olds make up about 26% of new infections — more than any other group.
"It's imperative that these young adults recognize that even though they are unlikely to get seriously ill from this virus, they are major contributors to the spread of Covid-19 in our country at this time," Redfield said.
He urged all Americans regardless of age continue to follow the advice of health experts:
"Wear a mask, maintain social distance, practice routine hand washings with vigilance, be smart about crowds and stay home when you're feeling sick," he said.
11:12 a.m. ET, September 23, 2020
"Long haulers" experience Covid-19 symptoms "weeks or months" after recovering from virus, Fauci says
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
Pool
Clinical observations show that Covid-19 affects certain individuals in a way that they can experience symptoms of the virus for weeks or months despite having virologically recovered, Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
These individuals are called 'long haulers,'" he said.
"A number of individuals, who virologically have recovered from infection, in fact, have persistence — measured in weeks to months — of symptomatology that does not appear to be due to persistence of the virus," he told the Senate committee.
These individuals have fatigue, myalgia, fever and involvement of the neurological system as well as cognitive abnormalities such as the inability to concentrate, Dr. Fauci further reported in his remarks.
Additionally, "a disturbing number of individuals" who have completely recovered and apparently are asymptomatic, are found to have "inflammation of the heart," when they have sensitive imaging technology such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MRI,] he said.
"These are the kind of things that tell us we must be humble, that we do not completely understand the nature of this illness," Dr. Fauci added.
Watch:
10:54 a.m. ET, September 23, 2020
Fauci says he predicts we will know by "end of this year" whether vaccines in trials are safe and effective
Dr.Anthony Fauci arrives to testify during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, September 23. Alex Edelman/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said in opening remarks at the Senate hearing this morning that there are three "platform candidate vaccines" that have entered into phase three trial.
"Very soon there will be a fourth," he added.
Fauci said he predicts that we will know later in the year whether these vaccines are safe and effective.
"So as these trials go on, we predict that some time by the end of this year, let's say November or December, we will know whether or not these are safe and effective and as you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, right now doses of this vaccine are being produced so that they'll be ready to be distributed."
"As I mentioned to this committee, we feel cautiously optimistic that we will be able to have a safe and effective vaccine, although there is never a guarantee of that," Fauci said.
Some background: Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate began phase 3 trials in the United States Wednesday. Trials for the single-dose vaccine, which uses a human adenovirus, will include up to 60,000 adult participants at nearly 215 sites in the US and internationally.
Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca also have Covid-19 vaccine candidates in phase 3 trials in the United States, although AstraZeneca’s trial is currently paused.
Johnson & Johnson’s phase 3 trial is being conducted in collaboration with Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s coronavirus vaccine effort.
