Nation’s infectious disease doc delivers at WVU conference
A vaccine for COVID-19 may be available before the end of the year, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor said during taped remarks Thursday at West Virginia Clinical and Transitional Science Institute’s pandemic roundtable.
“By the end of November and December, we should have a safe and effective vaccine,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.
“It (the virus) exploded in a manner than is unprecedented,” he said.
The United States has over 9 million cases of the virus, a total that includes 55,000 new cases each day, and there have been 229, 293 deaths. There are more than 45 million cases worldwide and the global death toll is approaching 2 million.
“The U.S. did not shut down as much as Italy or Spain,” he said.
Because the virus is transmitted through the air, the place where people are most infected are in their own homes.
Fauci said around 81% of the people who get the virus have mild to moderate symptoms; 14% have severe symptoms, and 2.3% are critical. Some people who have recovered from the virus have sustained heart damage, brain fog and kidney issues. Black and Hispanic people are infected by the virus at higher rates because they tend to hold jobs that deal with the public.
Also speaking at Thursday’s event was Dr. Clay Marsh, the executive dean for health sciences at WVU and the state’s COVID-19 czar, and Bill Crouch, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The state reported 19 deaths from the virus in the last week, and 402 new COVID-19 cases for a daily positive rate of 2.97%.
Marsh said during the summer younger adults were getting the virus, but now people in their 50s and 70s are becoming infected. He said people need to continue to follow safety protocols for COVID-19.
“We have tremendous power over the virus,” Marsh said. “We can control the virus.”
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