Washington — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, expressed a fear that if cities and states do not adhere to the government’s guidelines on when and how they can begin to reopen, there could be more COVID-19 outbreaks.
If “states or cities or regions” disregard the government’s “checkpoints” on when it’s safe to pull back from mitigation measures, Fauci said in testimony before the Senate Health Committee Tuesday, “If that occurs, there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you might not be able to control, which, in fact, paradoxically, will set you back, not only leading to some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to trying to get economic recovery. We would almost turn the clock back, rather than going forward.”
Fauci, who is a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, also offered lawmakers an update on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 during his testimony, his first appearance before Congress since March. He provided an optimistic timeline for vaccine development and said there are at least eight vaccines in various stages of development.
“We have many candidates and hope to have multiple winners,” he said. The NIH has been collaborating with “a number” of pharmaceutical companies and mentioned it is heavily involved in developing a vaccine with Moderna, which he said works on a messenger RNA platform.
He had initially predicted that it would take a year to 18 months to develop a vaccine but said that the NIH trial “moved very quickly.”
“On January 10, the sequence was known….On 14 January, we officially started the vaccine development. Sixty-two days later, we are in clinical trial with the two doses fully enrolled,” he said. The government is proceeding with phases two and three “in late spring and early summer.”
“If we are successful, we hope to know that in the late fall and early winter,” Fauci said.
But the idea that there will be treatments or vaccines available to facilitate return to schools in the fall would be “a bit of a bridge too far,” he said. And he warned that “there is also the possibility of negative consequences where certain vaccines can actually enhance the negative effect of the infection.”
Fauci is appearing remotely at the hearing with Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other officials to discuss reopening the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
During the hearing, Senator Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, asked Fauci if he believes the true death toll is actually higher than current figures indicate. Fauci replied, “I think you are correct,” because people died at home in New York at the start of the epidemic and were not counted as coronavirus victims. He said he doesn’t know how much larger the true death toll is, but it is “almost certainly is higher.”
At this point, Fauci believes that the infection rate is coming down a little. “When you look at the dynamics of new cases, even though some are coming down, the curve looks flat with some slight coming down,” he said. “So, I think we’re going in the right direction. But the right direction does not mean we have by any means total control of this outbreak.”
The hearing is being conducted largely by teleconference. Although some lawmakers are in the room, some masked, others — including the chairman and ranking member and all of the witnesses — are appearing remotely.
In his opening statement, Senator Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, noted that the country needs millions of more tests, in addition to greater tracking, treatment, isolation and eventually a vaccine. “Staying at home indefinitely is not the solution to this pandemic,” he said.
Ranking Member Patty Murray in her opening statement criticized President Trump for choosing to “ignore the facts, and ignore the experts who have been clear we are nowhere close to where we need to be to reopen safely.” She also called for a national testing system, as well as for more personal protective equipment to be made available to health care workers. Murray also argued that Congress needs to work on another coronavirus-related package, although Senate Republicans have argued that it is unnecessary to immediately work on the next phase of legislation.
Redfield spoke about CDC’s progress in assisting with the pandemic response, but said that it was still critical to maintain social distancing measures.
“It’s important to emphasize that we’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. “We need to stay vigilant, and social distancing is imperative.”
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir are also appearing at the virtual hearing. Amid the ongoing questions about U.S. COVID testing capability, Giroir projected that the country would be able to conduct 40 to 50 million tests per month by September.
Fauci is currently in a “modified quarantine,” following exposure to a White House staffer who tested positive for the virus. Over the weekend, Fauci told CBS News he is “low risk” based on the type of exposure he had to the staffer and is quarantining out of an abundance of caution. However, on Monday Fauci was at the White House, telling CBS News he is essential personnel and wore a mask while socially distancing.
His testimony before the Senate comes after the Trump administration blocked him from appearing before a House committee to discuss spending on coronavirus testing. President Trump told reporters last week that he doesn’t want officials appearing before House Democrats, who hold the majority.
“The House is a setup,” Mr. Trump said. “The House is a bunch of Trump haters.”
The White House Office of Legislative Affairs sent a memo to all House and Senate committee staff directors last week that bars all members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force from appearing before a congressional committee without the permission of chief of staff Mark Meadows.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said earlier this month that Fauci would not testify before the House Appropriations Committee because Meadows was told the hearing would be about funding for the Department of Health and Human Services, which she said would be a “rather odd fit” for Fauci, who works for the National Institutes of Health. She argued that it was “farcical” to say Fauci had been blocked from testifying.
Fauci’s testimony comes as several states begin to ease coronavirus-related restrictions, although health experts remain concerned about a second wave of the coronavirus. The economic fallout from the pandemic has been devastating, with the unemployment rate rising to 14.7% in April, the highest level since the Great Depression.
Paula Reid contributed to this report.
