Trump calls Fauci’s comments on children going back to school ‘unacceptable’
During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned that a coronavirus vaccine would not be available before U.S. students returned to school in the fall. On Wednesday, President Trump called Fauci’s answer with regard to schools “unacceptable.”
Video Transcript
LAMAR ALEXANDER: I've got a question for Dr. Fauci and then Admiral Giroir. Doctor, let's look down the road three months. There will be about 5,000 campuses across the country trying to welcome 20 million college students, 100,000 public schools welcoming 50 million students. What would you say to the chancellor of the University of Tennessee Knoxville or the president or the principal of a public school about how to persuade parents and students to return to school in August?
Let's start with treatments and vaccines first, Dr. Fauci. And then if you could save about half of my five minutes for Admiral Giroir for testing, I would appreciate it.
ANTHONY FAUCI: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Well, I would be very realistic with the chancellor and tell him that when we're thinking in terms--
LAMAR ALEXANDER: It's a her in this case.
ANTHONY FAUCI: Oh, I would tell her-- I'm sorry, sir-- that in this case that the idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far. As I mentioned, the drug that has shown some degree of efficacy was modest and was in hospitalized patients. Not yet or maybe ever to be used either yet as prophylaxis or treatment.
So if the issue is that the young individuals who will be going back to school would like to have some comfort in that there's a treatment, probably the thing that would be closest to utilization then would likely be passive transfer of convalescent serum. But we're really not talking about necessarily treating a student who gets ill but how the student will feel safe in going back to school.
If this were a situation where we had a vaccine, that would really be the end of that issue in a positive way. But as I mentioned in my opening remarks, even at the top speed we're going, we don't see a vaccine playing in the ability of individuals to get back to school this term. What they really want is to know if they are safe, and that's the question that'll have to be due with what we discussed earlier about testing.
DONALD TRUMP: Please.
- Dr. Fauci yesterday was a little cautious on reopening the economy too soon. Do you share his concerns?
DONALD TRUMP: About reopening what?
- Reopening the economy too soon in some states.
DONALD TRUMP: Look, he wants to play both sides of the equation. I think we're going to have a tremendous fourth quarter. I think we're going to have a transitional third quarter, and I think we're going to have a phenomenal next year.
- When you say Dr. Fauci is playing both sides, are you suggesting that the advice he's giving to you--
DONALD TRUMP: Well, I was surprised.
- --is different?
DONALD TRUMP: I was surprised by his answer, actually, because, you know, it's just-- to me, it's not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools. The only thing that would be acceptable, as I said, is professors, teachers, et cetera over a certain age. I think they ought to take it easy for another few weeks-- five weeks, four weeks, who knows? whatever it may be. But I think they have to be careful because this is a disease that attacks age, and it attacks health. And if you have a heart problem, if you have diabetes, if you're a certain age, it's certainly much more dangerous.
But with the young children, I mean, and students, it's really-- just take a look at the statistics. It's pretty amazing.
