Jul 3, 2020 - Health

Fauci: Coronavirus surges mark a "very disturbing week" in the U.S.

Fauci testifies to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on June 30. Photo: Al Drago/AFP via Getty Images

NIAID director Anthony Fauci told medical journal JAMA on Thursday that it has been a "very disturbing week" for the spread of the novel coronavirus in the U.S.

What's happening: The number of coronavirus cases increased in the vast majority of states over the last week, and decreased in only two states plus the District of Columbia, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports.

What he's saying: "Right now, if you look at the number of cases, it's quite disturbing. We're setting records, practically every day, of new cases in the numbers that are reported. That clearly is not the right direction."

  • Fauci described the "feeling of an all-or-none phenomenon" in some areas in the U.S. that are reopening, "where you're either a lockdown, or you're just going to say, 'the devil may care,' and just let it all go."
  • "And we saw that in the way people were congregating in crowds, which is understandable that people want to get out there ... but it was done in so many respects at bars and at congregations without masks on, which is so highly predictable that you're gonna get into trouble," Fauci told JAMA editor-in-chief Howard Bauchner.
  • Parts of Florida, Arizona, Texas and California together accounted for roughly 50% of new infections recently seen in the entire country, Fauci said.

Go deeper: U.S. daily coronavirus cases top 50,000 for first time

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Fauci: Crunch time for coronavirus vaccine as late-stage trials begin

National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci at a Senate hearing in June. Photo: Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images

The first volunteer in a late-stage trial for a coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health received a shot in Savannah, Georgia, at 6:45 am on Monday, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

Catch up quick: Fauci said President Trump was briefed Monday that 89 sites around the country will be enrolling individuals in the phase three trial.

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World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

While several novel coronavirus vaccines are in late-stage trials, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Monday: "There is no silver bullet at the moment, and there might never be."

What he's saying: "For now, stopping outbreaks comes down the the basis of public health and disease control," Tedros said. Testing, isolating and treating patients and tracing and quarantining their contacts."

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Marisa Fernandez
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Youth COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida surge 23%

A health care worker directs a person to use a nasal swab for a self administered test, Miami, Florida, July 23. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Coronavirus cases in youths have greatly increased in Florida, with total infections up 34% and hospitalizations up 23% between July 16 and 24, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The big picture: The increase from 23,170 confirmed COVID-19 cases in youths to 31,150 in just eight days comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the Trump administration continue to aggressively push for schools to resume in-person classes in August.

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