Fauci firmly rejects herd immunity strategy after Trump toys with it: 'We're not there yet'


Dr. Anthony Fauci is pushing back against the advice of somebody one Trump administration official called the "anti-Dr. Fauci."
Neuroradiologist Scott Atlas, a top medical adviser to President Trump who has no background in epidemiology, has reportedly been pushing Trump toward the controversial theory of herd immunity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. And after Trump brought it up with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday, Fauci seemingly decided it was time to fire back.
"Herd immunity is that when you have enough people who've either been infected and/or vaccinated and protected" from the virus, "there's enough protection in the community" and the virus slows its spread and perhaps even stops, Fauci explained Wednesday to MSNBC. "We're not there yet. That's not a fundamental strategy that we're using. The fundamental strategy ... is to try to prevent as many infections as you possibly can" by identifying a case, isolating the person who has it, and contact tracing where they've been, Fauci continued.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump told Ingraham on Monday that "once you get to a certain number [of coronavirus cases,] it's going to go away." That's untrue, and not how things worked in Sweden when it tried the herd immunity strategy.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in Fiji
Under the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetime
Feature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’
Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies