Lafayette proclaims 'Dr. Anthony Fauci Day' to honor 80th birthday as city gets praise for virus response
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke with Lafayette Councilmember Cameron Burks.
LAFAYETTE, Calif. - Dr. Anthony Fauci commended Lafayette's coronavirus response in a one-on-one Tuesday with Councilmember Cameron Burks. He also predicted springtime for mass vaccine availability in a conversation that unintentionally highlighted the infection disparity between Bay Area social classes.
Contra Costa County has reported a total of 35,788 virus cases, with Lafayette accounting for 343, according to county data. They’ve added 59 new infections over the last two weeks amid the Bay Area’s stay-at-home order and California’s explosive surge.
"I understand you people in Lafayette have really tried very hard, adhering to the public health principles that I’ve been speaking about now for months and months," the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases said of the city with 26,000 people.
While certainly applaudable, the city’s position for responding to the virus differs from nearby cities of similar size. For scale, Bay Point has just 1,000 fewer people but 330 percent more total virus cases. The poverty rate is nearly 19 percent compared to Lafayette’s four, according to Census Bureau data. And 61 percent of Bay Point’s population is Latino, while in Lafayette 75 percent are white and Latinos make up less than 8 percent.
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But Fauci, who publically received his first Moderna vaccine dose hours before speaking with Burks, pointed to the biggest source of hope for moving forward. The light at the end of the tunnel becomes gradually brighter as more of the public get vaccinated, he said, before predicting when most Americans should expect their opportunity.
"Probably in March or April there will be what we call open season," said Fauci. "Where anybody, no matter what their category is, will be able to get vaccinated."
The national vaccination program is in its second week of distribution with health care workers and long-term facilities receiving doses throughout the country. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee has recommended the next round of shots go to people older than 75 and front line essential workers.
During the one-on-one virtual talk, Burks said Lafayette has proclaimed Dec. 24 "Dr. Anthony Fauci Day" in honor of the NIAID director turning 80 years old on Thursday.
"We can't do much as a little town but it's one of the things we cherish the most and we would be honored to do that for you," said Burks.
Fauci was asked what science tells us so far about whether a person who gets vaccinated will have definitive immunity or not. Ultimately, total durability is not yet known.
"We don’t think that this will protect you for life because of the nature of the protection we get from natural infection," Fauci said, noting how some vaccines, like measles, protect people for life. "But I believe it will be good enough to put an end to the outbreak."
Fauci floated the chance for subsequent booster shots to keep immunity up if necessary. Nevertheless, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert believes that if 70 to 85 percent of Americans take the vaccine, the country would develop a "blanket" of immunity that would halt the epidemic.
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