Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Opinion: Anthony Fauci Is Not an Alarmist. He Is a Realist.
An interview with the man who has an important message for you, if he can get it out.Americans may have lost faith in their most cherished institutions — the presidency, Congress, the media, perhaps even democracy itself — but 65 percent of them still believe in Dr. Anthony Fauci.
This, in spite of the fact that he’s practically disappeared from network and cable television while the pandemic has whipped through the country with alarming speed (his message of sober realism does not, one suspects, align well with the wishful thinking of his boss).
This, in spite of the fact that the Trump White House waged a highly unusual campaign last week to undermine his credibility, with both named and unnamed administration officials dispatched to impale him like an hors d’oeuvre. Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, and he’s been the custodian of a jittery nation’s sanity since March 2020.
We had a chance to speak nine hours before the president’s first coronavirus news briefing since April. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Are you going to be at the press briefing this afternoon?
To be honest with you, I don’t know. They haven’t really said who’s going to be there. I would assume, but I don’t know as a fact if I am going to be there.
Have you spoken with the White House about it?
No. But that’s not unlike them all of a sudden, middle of the day, to say, “Be down there at five o’clock.” So I’m not too — what’s the right word? — surprised that I haven’t heard anything yet.
Interesting. That means you weren’t involved in the discussions about relaunching them.
No.
Do you think they’re a good idea?
You know, it depends on how it goes. If they stick to public health and don’t get diverted into other types of discussions, I think it could be productive.
Let’s get to the news. Our numbers are surging. And you’ve just told The Atlantic that we’ve got to do a reset, which, of course, makes perfect sense. But given the reluctance of some governors, businesses and citizens to abide by the basic rules of social distancing and mask wearing, is it possible to get this pandemic under control without a federal response? It would be better if things were a little more uniform. It just seems that unfortunately, in some sectors, there’s this feeling that there’s opening the country on one end of the spectrum, and public health measures that suppress things and lock them down on the other.
They should not be opposing forces. The guidelines that we put out a couple of months ago, those should be followed and appreciated as the vehicle to open the country, as opposed to the obstacle to opening the country.
You said it would be nicer if some things were more uniform. Like what?
The fundamentals. Wear a mask. Avoid crowds. Close the bars. Bars are the hot spots — —
But Americans have already been told this, right? And we still don’t do those things. If you were an executive for the day, what lever would you pull?
But Jennifer, would you want me to say something that’s directly contrary to what the president is doing? That’s not helpful. Then all of a sudden you don’t hear from me for a while.
I definitely don’t want anyone weaponizing anything you’re saying.
I’ve just been doing this for so long, and I’m trying to do my best to get the message across without being overtly at odds, OK? The only thing I can do is to get out there with whatever notoriety or recognition I have and say, these are the four or five things. Please pay attention to them. And if we do that, I feel confident that we’ll turn this around.
What I’ve been trying to do is appeal to the younger generation. If you look at the age average of the new cases that are going on in the South, it’s about 10 to 15 years younger than what we previously saw.
So it’s clear what’s going on. Young people are saying to themselves: “Wait a minute. I’m young, I’m healthy. The chances of my getting seriously ill are very low. And in fact, it is about a 20 to 40 percent likelihood that I won’t have any symptoms at all. So why should I bother?”
What they’re missing is something fundamental: By getting infected themselves — even if they never get a symptom — they are part of the propagation of a pandemic. They are fueling the pandemic. We have to keep hammering that home, because, as much as they do that, they’re completely relinquishing their societal responsibility.
How much faith do you have in people to pivot and change their behaviors?
It’s disconcerting when you see people are not listening. I could show you some of the emails and texts I get — everybody seems to have my cellphone number — that are pretty hostile about what I’m doing, as if I’m encroaching upon their individual liberties.
Can you read me one?
No.
Just trying to get a glimpse into your inbox.
It’s not good.
What do you think is the most effective way for you to communicate? Because you’re right: You can’t stand out there with a bullhorn and directly contradict the man you work for.
I’m a pretty good communicator. I have been doing that now with multiple outbreaks for about 40 years, dating back to the very early years of H.I.V., I’m just going to continue to use whatever bully pulpit I have. And, you know, just keep hacking at it.
Are you reaching out to individual governors?
The governors call me frequently. It’s not a rare situation where governors and senators get on the phone with me and in good faith ask, “What do you think I should be doing? What about this? What should I do about that?”
Have you spoken to Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, who opposed a mandate to wear masks in Atlanta?
I haven’t specifically spoken to Kemp, no.
Has Joe Biden reached out to you? Or any of his folks?
No. I mean I think they know better. That I’m in a sensitive position.
Is there a time in recent American history when we as a nation would have been better able to get this pandemic under control?
In some respects, we are better off because of the technological advances. I mean, 20 years ago, we never would have been able to get candidate vaccines ready to go into Phase 3 trials literally within a few months of the discovery of the new virus. That is unprecedented.
But there was a time when there was much more faith and confidence in authority and in government. It’s very, very difficult to get the country to pull together in a real unified way. Maybe the last time that we ever did that was 9/11.
Is there anything about this virus, as a pathogen, that has surprised you?
Absolutely! You know, it’s extremely unique, and I think that is one of the reasons why there is such confusion and misunderstanding about the seriousness of it. Of all the viruses and outbreaks that I have been involved with over the last four decades, I have never seen a virus in which the spectrum of seriousness is so extreme. This disease goes from nothing to death! So that has really surprised me.
Is there nothing else like this in nature?
There are extreme differences in certain diseases, but none that have exploded into pandemic proportions.
You’ve said before that there could be some kind of vaccine by the end of the year. But at what point will most families be able to get a vaccination?
I think it’s going to be sometime in 2021. I don’t know whether that’s going to be the first quarter of 2021, the first half — it’s difficult to say.
But testing still isn’t up to scale, and personal protective equipment wasn’t distributed in a timely way. Given that, I fear that there will be many snafus.
We don’t think that’s going to happen, for the simple reason that the federal government has invested billions of dollars directly — directly — into the pharmaceutical companies that are making the vaccine. There are never any guarantees. But I would be surprised, given all the resources that the federal government has put into these companies. We are counting on them for delivery.
That is the one way in which you’re saying there has been a federalized response.
Right. There certainly has.
The president called you an alarmist in his interview with Chris Wallace. And I just want to know: Are you?
I characterize myself as a realist.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/opinion/anthony-fauci-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
#Pakistan - #matiullahjan - Journalist Matiullah Jan returns home after brief abduction
Senior journalist Matiullah Jan, who was allegedly abducted from the federal capital’s Sector G-6
Jan, who was said to be in a stable condition, left for his home with his brother Shahid Akbar.
Jan, speaking to a private news channel after his return, said that he was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location by his abductors. He said that he was later released in Fateh Jang after being driven around the city.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry expressed his delight at the news. “Welcome back,” he wrote on his official Twitter handle.
Earlier, Jan’s wife Kaneez Fatima had said that the journalist’s car was found parked outside a school in Sector G-6 of the capital with one of his mobile phones inside the vehicle. CCTV footages purportedly showing Jan’s alleged abduction surfaced on social media, which showed several armed men exiting at least three vehicles.
A First Information Report (FIR) of the senior journalist’s alleged abduction had been lodged at Aabpara Police Station by his brother.
Jan was due to appear in the Supreme Court (SC) this week after it took suo motu notice of an alleged contemptuous tweet by the journalist.
As the news of his disappearance drew attention of journalists and international rights bodies, a tweet was posted on Matiullah Jan’s account at 3:17pm — purportedly by his son — which read: “Matiullahjan, my father, has been abducted from the heart of the capital [Islamabad]. I demand he be found and the agencies behind it immediately be held responsible. God keep him safe.”
Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz confirmed the journalist’s abduction during a post-cabinet meeting presser later in the evening. “This much is established that he [Jan] has been kidnapped,” said Faraz. “We will try to find out where he is and how he can be recovered. This is the responsibility of the government and it will fulfil it,” he added.
Meanwhile, officials from the Aabpara Police Station reached the site and said they were trying to acquire the CCTV footage. SHO Shaukat Mehmood said that the journalist’s wife has not yet filed an application to lodge a report on his disappearance.
Soon after, the chairperson of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, PPP’s Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, tweeted that the Islamabad inspector general of police had been summoned to brief the committee with regards to Jan’s abduction.
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari tweeted around 5:30pm that she had been “just informed about [Jan’s] kidnapping”.
She said she had taken notice of the “very disturbing” development and spoken to the Islamabad inspector general who informed her that “they are looking into it”.
Terming Jan’s abduction as “unacceptable”, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar said he too had spoken with the Islamabad police chief and instructed him to take “immediate action for retrieval and registration of FIR”.
Jan had tweeted a video of a journalist’s interview earlier in the day.
“This is for the attention of those who sit in the simulated air conditioned environment of rule of law in Pakistan and who think criticism on them is a bigger crime than the violation of the inviolable dignity of a human being,” he wrote on Twitter at 11:05 am this morning.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif termed Jan’s disappearance as “highly condemnable and [a] matter of deep concern”.
“The government’s campaign to muzzle the media & critical voices is simply shameful. If something happens to Matiullah, PM will be held responsible,” he tweeted.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in a tweet said he was “extremely concerned” at the news of Jan’s abduction.
“The selected government must immediately [ensure] his safe return. This is not only an attack on media freedoms & democracy but on all of us. Today it is Matiullah, tomorrow it could be you or I,” he wrote.
Jan’s disappearance drew the attention of rights groups and other journalists, who termed the incident as yet another attempt to silence the press in the country. Shortly after the incident occurred, several hashtags about Jan’s alleged abduction started trending on Twitter.
In a statement, the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) condemned the “abduction like arrest” of the journalist.
“[Jan] has always been an upright and honest journalist, who always remained undeterred in calling a spade a spade,” said KUJ President Ashraf Khan, calling for his release from “illegal custody”.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) demanded that the government “immediately ensure the safe recovery” of the journalist.
Amnesty International South Asia also called for authorities to “establish [Jan’s] whereabouts immediately”.
In a tweet, the international human rights organisation said it was “extremely concerned for the fate and well-being” of the journalist, who it said has been the subject of “physical attacks and harassment for his journalism”.
Press advocacy organisation Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was “deeply concerned” about Jan’s reported abduction. “He should be released and returned to his family at once,” it tweeted.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/07/21/journalist-matiullah-jan-goes-missing-wife-says/
Balochistan: Chairman of Ost Welfare Organisation abducted from Karachi
Pakistani security forces whisked away Ost Welfare Organisation’s chairman Mohammad Jan Dashti along with Saeed Baloch from Lyari last night – 21 July 2020.
Saeed is a brother of Abul Qayyum Wafa, General Secretary of Ost who was abducted from Malir area of Karachi on July 10, 2020.
According to details, the Pakistani security forces last night forcibly abducted the chairman of Ost Welfare Organisation from Karachi’s Baloch populated region in Lyari.
It should be noted that Qayyum Wafa Baloch, General Secretary of Ost Welfare Organisation was also abducted on July 9 and has not been recovered yet and now the chairman of the same organisation has also been abducted.
Ost a Balochi word means Hope, is a welfare organisation that is striving to support poor and needy patients who cannot afford treatment and suffer from life-threatening diseases such as cancer.
The latest kidnapping of the Chairman and General Secretary of Ost shows that the state of Pakistan cannot even tolerate welfare organisations who are merely supporting needy people with health facilities and treatment.
The Baloch nation has long been complaining that Pakistani security forces are involved in indiscriminate brutalities against Baloch people across Balochistan and Karachi.
Bomb blast in Pakistan’s Balochistan province kills 1, injures 8
Police said was it yet to be ascertained who was the target of the blast but those injured in it were civilians.
A powerful bomb blast ripped through a busy market in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding eight others, police said.The blast took place in Turbat and a number of vehicles were damaged in the attack.
The bomb was planted in a motorcycle parked outside a shop in Turbat and killed one person and injuring eight others, a senior police official said.The injured have been shifted to a hospital for treatment, the officer said.“A number of vehicles have also been damaged in the blast,” he said.
It was yet to be ascertained who was the target of the blast, but all the injured were civilians, police said.Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Alyani condemned the attack, saying “anti-state elements will not be allowed to succeed”. Militants and separatists belonging to the banned outfits have stepped up terror attacks in Balochistan in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, three soldiers were killed and eight others injured when they were ambushed by terrorists in the Panjgur district of the province.
On June 29, the banned separatist group, the Baluchistan Liberation Army, also carried out a failed terror attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi in which four militants were killed on the spot by security forces. Four security guards, a police sub inspector and two civilians also lost their lives in the attack.
In May, seven soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in the Mach and Kech areas.