Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to US President Joe Biden, described his work fighting the novel coronavirus, his time working alongside former President Donald Trump and currently under Biden, in an interview with Channel 13 News on Wednesday night.
"I would say consistently that my worst nightmare would be the appearance of a new virus that jumps species from an animal host to a human that would have two characteristics: one, that it would jump extraordinarily easy from person to person, and two, it had the capability of resulting in a considerable degree in morbidity and mortality, said Fauci. "And unfortunately, my worst nightmare has come true."
"I often use Israel as the prototype example of what actually goes right" he continued, acknowledging Israel's success in the fight against the novel coronavirus. "I don't think Israel did everything perfectly – no one does."
Fauci described advantages the Jewish state has had in fighting the virus, such as its small population.
"I think that the history of Israel, because of its size and political circumstances, knows how to stick together as a single unit."
He stated clearly that he strongly believes Israel will achieve "herd immunity" – the situation where a sufficient portion of a population is immune from a contagious threat through vaccination or recovery, so that it won't spread significantly to the rest of the population. But he also believes that other countries that have suffered greater difficulties against the virus will eventually learn to control it.
"I believe it's likely that we will have to continue vaccinating over a period of several years," he predicted.
Fauci urged young people and children to get vaccinated, stating that they could be "an important vehicle for vaccinating the community."
Having worked with both the Trump and Biden administrations, Fauci spoke more highly of Biden, saying that he promised to let "science, evidence and data direct what we do."
Fauci spoke of his disagreements working under Trump, especially regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine, and made it clear that he and his family continue to receive death threats from the "anti-science" crowd.
Last April, it was reported that conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine activist Naomi Wolf suggested that Fauci was "beholden to Israel" rather than serving the United States.
Ben Sales/JTA and Natan Rothstein contributed to this report.