Fauci advises Americans to assess their personal COVID-19 risk [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci said Americans should make their personal Covid-19 risk assessments.
• Fauci said the virus “is not going to be eradicated and it’s not going to be eliminated.”
• The White House chief medical adviser said the US “is still in that green zone.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci advised Americans to continue assessing their own risk as COVID-19 cases tick up.

“It’s going to be a person’s decision about the individual risks they’re going to take,” Fauci told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl exclusively on Sunday.

“This is not going to be eradicated and it’s not going to be eliminated,” the chief medical adviser to the White House added. “So you’re going to make a question and an answer for yourself, for me as an individual, for you as an individual. What is my age? What is my status? Do I have people at home who are vulnerable that if I bring the virus home there may be a problem?”

While there is concern that the US is seeing an uptick in COVID cases, Fauci said it’s expected “when you pull back on the mitigation methods.”

Fauci said the US “is still in that green zone” even though 21 states are reporting an increase in COVID cases. He said, “masking is not recommended in the sense of not required in indoor settings.”

On Saturday, the annual Gridiron Club Dinner was held in Washington and was followed by reports of COVID-19 cases among high-profile guests.

Karl and Fauci both attended the event which had about 600 attendees.

” I believe we’re at 67 people that have tested positive who were at the dinner…What is the lesson here?” Karl asked Fauci.

“I think the people who run functions, who run big dinners, who run functions like the White House Correspondents’ ball, or thinking back, the Gridiron Dinner, are going to have to make a determination looking at the CDC guidelines and seeing where the trends are,” Fauci responded.

President Joe Biden, who didn’t attend the dinner was in contact with ​multiple prominent attendees​, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She and ​other lawmakers have recently tested positive ​for the virus.

“What is your level of concern about the president’s exposure here?” Karl asked.

“The protocols to protect the president are pretty strong,” Fauci said. “The president is vaccinated. He is doubly boosted. He got his fourth shot of an mRNA. When people like myself and my colleagues are in the room with him closely for a considerable period of time — half an hour, 20 minutes, 40 minutes, all of us need to be tested.”

The 79-year-old Biden had his second booster shot in March.

Fauci assured that health officials are watching the uptick “very, very carefully.” He is hopeful that “we’re not going to see increased severity.”

Source: ABC News