Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spoke Thursday, Jan. 7, about the state of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of Washington University Department of Medicine’s virtual, weekly Grand Rounds.

The online talk — part of the Gerald Medoff Visiting Professor Grand Rounds lecture series — was free and open to the general public but geared toward Washington University and BJC HealthCare employees, residents, fellows and students.

As part of his remarks titled “Insights into the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Fauci answered questions about many aspects of the outbreak. He highlighted the extreme difficulty of the current situation across the country but also emphasized the hope spurred by the ongoing distribution of effective vaccines.

“Having been gripped by this pandemic for close to a year, the numbers of cases and deaths are so extraordinary that we’ve almost become numb to them,” Fauci said. “On the other hand, there is light at the end of the tunnel with the available vaccines, the development of which has set new records. As we move into April, if we get 100 million people vaccinated in 100 days, the way President-elect Biden wants to do, I think we’ll start to see some impact on the dynamics of the outbreak.”

Moderating the discussion were Washington University’s Victoria Fraser, MD, the Adolphus Busch Professor and head of the Department of Medicine, and William Powderly, MD, the J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine, co-director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, assistant dean for clinical and translational research, the Larry J. Shapiro Director of the Institute for Public Health, and director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences.

A recording of the presentation is available on YouTube. For more information on Grand Rounds, visit the Department of Medicine website.

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