Fauci is Back with a Warning for Americans About Covid 'Boosters'

The former NIAID director also responded to questioning on the Covid lab leak theory ahead of an expected Congressional hearing appearance.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is back. And he's warning Americans that Covid boosters will likely be 'required' for the foreseeable future.

Tom Elliott @tomselliott

Fauci: Americans will need new Covid shots "at least once a year"

“Yeah, well, that — that leads to the question, Joe, and we’d like the answer from you, Dr. Fauci who you’re the pride of Holy Cross college," ex-Boston Globe writer Mike Barnicle said.

"And I don’t believe you were in medical school with Ted Cruz or Jim Jordan, but how many booster shots do you think we will be getting, there’s one available now, but how long in the future will we be getting booster shots?” he snidely added.

"You know, we don’t know definitively the answer to that, but it is likely that this thing is not going to disappear, it’s not going to be eradicated and it’s not going to be eliminated," he said. "So it’s going to be around, you know, for the foreseeable future."

"So, it is likely that we will require an intermittent — likely at the same time as we get a flu vaccine — at least once a year. Very similar to what we do to keep updated on our immunity against influenza. It is very likely that a similar situation we’ll be experiencing with Covid, namely getting a booster shot once a year, probably at the same time as we get an influenza shot.”

A major study recently published at the Journal of Infectious Diseases showed that natural immunity, or postinfection immunity, was shown to provide 76 percent protection against Covid-19-associated hospitalizations during the Omicron surge, the researchers found. The Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, both using mRNA technology, provided just 39 percent protection for those without a prior infection.

Natural immunity also lasted longer than mRNA vaccination plus boosters, according to the study. During the Omicron surge, natural immunity protection against hospitalization was 74 percent for 150 or more days after infection. A primary vaccine series without prior infection provided just 39 percent protection beyond 149 days after the final shot. Three doses initially provided 81 percent protection but this faded to just 31 percent after 150 or more days following the last shot.

According to current CDC data via the New York Times, about 34% of the U.S. population is currently "boosted." There are approximately 27,442 Covid cases each day and 414 Covid-related deaths, according to the Health and Human Services data at the Times.

Fauci also discussed if his views on Covid origins had changed in light of new reports from the Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation supporting a lab leak theory.

Becker News @NewsBecker

"If you look historically, as well as information that has recently been published by a considerably large group of highly respected international evolutionary virologists, although it isn't definitive, they've published in the peer-reviewed literature, when you look at… https://t.co/WO6OimR3Z5

"Dr. Fauci, as you know, there are still questions that remain as the origin of Covid. The US Department of Energy about two weeks ago put out an assessment saying that they have with low confidence that there's a possibility that this emerged from a lab. Right now, where do you think Covid came from?" he was asked.

"Yeah, well, first of all, we don't know," Fauci replied. "And I think that's where a lot of the accusations and confusion about who says what. We don't know the definitive answer to that."

"Obviously, there are two possibilities that are being entertained, and I think we need to keep a completely open mind until we have definitive proof. However, having said that, if you look at the information, because something might be possible, one or the other, that doesn't mean one is more probable than the other."

"And if you look historically, as well as information that has recently been published by a considerably large group of highly respected international evolutionary virologists, although it isn't definitive, they've published in the peer-reviewed literature, when you look at epidemiological, virological, and geospatial information from Wuhan, they feel and have published this, that it is more likely, not definitive, but more likely that it's a natural occurrence from an animal reservoir to a human," he added.

"Having said that, since it isn't definitive, all of us must keep a completely open mind that it could be one or the other," Fauci went on. "So rather than fighting about it, we should try and absolutely find out which it is. But in the meantime, do whatever you can to prevent either option from happening again. If it's a lab leak, make the lab much more safe, get good regulations about what you can do so that in the future, the possibility of this is diminished. If it is a natural evolution from an animal reservoir, take a really good look at the animal human interface and the fact that animals from the wild are bring, brought into wet markets, which exposes them right to the human population.

"We can, right now, even without knowing definitively what the origin is, we can work on both of those possibilities," he said.

The House's Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Members has uncovered evidence that Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation's top Covid authority, abused his influence to sway researchers away from the "lab leak theory" of the origins of SARS-CoV-2, misled Congress about his role in this investigation, and indeed may have been a principle author of the now-infamous paper, "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2."

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on March 5 issued a memorandum on its findings that Dr. Fauci had inappropriately influenced Covid origins researchers. The memorandum states as follows:

The evidence available to the Select Subcommittee suggests that Dr. Anthony Fauci “prompted” Dr. Kristian Andersen, Professor, Scripps Research (Scripps), to write Proximal Origin and that the goal was to “disprove” any lab leak theory.

On August 18, 2021, Scripps responded to then-Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member, James Comer, and then-Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member, Jim Jordan’s, July 29, 2021, letter to Dr. Andersen. In this letter, Scripps asserts that Dr. Andersen “objectively” investigated the origins and that Dr. Anthony Fauci did not attempt to influence his work. Both statements do not appear to be supported by the available evidence.

The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic adds that "The Goal of Proximal Origin Was to 'Disprove' A Lab Theory." This is based on statements made by Dr. Kristian Anderson, the lead author.

"Our main work over the last couple of weeks has been focused on trying to disprove any type of lab theory…" Anderson wrote in a February 8, 2020 email.

The memorandum reveals how the researchers believed that the natural evolution hypothesis rested on dubious assertions.

Dr. Fauci has agreed to testify before Congress on the Covid lab leak theory and other matters if called.