Dr. Anthony Fauci is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Considered to be one of the most trusted medical figures in the country, he has advised six Presidents on many domestic and global health issues.
Feb. 27th, 2020
Dr Fauci introduces himself. Notifies the public that the process of creating a vaccine from virus to trial to public will likely take upwards of a year. Then determines that the best protective measures are through containment and public health measures. A small discussion on antiviral therapeutics. The keywords low and health within the text refer to Fauci’s explanation of trial procedure. Here, COVID-19 is being viewed as a low-risk, long term issue.
Feb. 29th, 2020
Dr. Fauci sympathizes with the family of the first COVID-19 death. Speaks on community spread diseases and procedures to identify them. Defends prevention of travel to and from China. Reasserts public health measures. Reports on at-risk groups and compares COVID-19 to influenza. The words low, risk, and health are used in an optimistic attitude toward the containment of the disease.
March 3rd, 2020
Reiterates vaccine trial information and explains the time a vaccine might take to be produced. Reports on the virus not being able to be transferred from animals to humans. Criticizes China’s harsh lockdown strategy. Fauci’s role throughout the briefings has been informing the public of disease reaction and answering questions about COVID-19’s effect on the public. Here, with few events occurring in the U.S, the words risk and testing imply things are “as usual” for the White House Reaction Committee.
March 10th, 2020
Reports steady increase of COVID-19 cases. Talks of the seriousness of the virus, “Flattening the curve”, and following public health measures. Describes virus’s spread through the U.S. as imminent. Things begin to take on a serious note as Fauci refers to COVID-19 as an outbreak and asserts the need for mitigation. He continues to describe the risk as low for much of the public who are younger and whose immune systems are not compromised.
March 18th, 2020
no dialogue
