America’s top public health leader during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, had a message for those who questioned decisions he made over the course of the pandemic.
Speaking at the University of Illinois Chicago Tuesday afternoon, Fauci spoke candidly about his hindsight now.
“What I know now, we would’ve done a lot of things different. But what society needs to understand is that when scientists change their recommendations, that’s not flip-flopping. That’s what science is,” Fauci told a crowd at the .
The University of Illinois Chicago crowd gave a standing ovation during the introduction for Fauci.
“Thank you for leading when we needed you most,” said Marie Lynn Miranda, the chancellor of the UIC, who moderated the talk.
Fauci served as the medical adviser for seven U.S. presidents, including during the pandemic.
“We had 1.17 million deaths (in the United States),” Fauci said. “We are now in our fifth year of this outbreak, which is more deaths per capita than virtually any other country in the world.”
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The Centers for Disease Control recently said it has no plans to ease COVID isolation guidelines, at least not yet, though reports surfaced this month over the potential for changes in coming months.
Fauci didn’t comment on the CDC. California and Oregon have already broken away from CDC isolation guidelines, suggesting that people who have improving symptoms and are fever-free for 24 hours do not need to isolate for the full five-day recommendation.
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NBC Chicago asked the Illinois Department of Public Health about whether the state’s guidelines could also change. IDPH told us, in part, the department is “continuing to evaluate our own statewide guidelines.”
During the talk at UIC, protestors interrupted Fauci three times for accepting a $1 million prize from Israel in 2021 for defending science, claiming he had “blood on his hands” for the deaths of Palestinians in the War in Gaza.
“They can be much more effective if they pick out the right people to attack. I have nothing to do with Israel. I have nothing to do with Palestine,” Fauci said in response.
Fauci also offered advice for medical professionals.
“Be more interested in the person with the disease than the disease in the person,” he said. “Get involved in something that gives to society instead of takes from society."
