WE'RE BACK HERE WITH DR. ANTHONY FAUCI.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD, IF YOU COULD, DO DIFFERENTLY ABOUT

THE LAST YEAR?

AND I DON'T MEAN ABOUT KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW ABOUT THE

VIRUS OR ITS, YOU KNOW, AEROSOLIZED SPREAD OR SOMETHING,

BUT JUST SOMETHING YOU WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY NOW THAT YOU SAW HOW

AMERICA REACTED OR FOR ANY LEVEL?

>> YEAH, YOU HAVE TO SAY-- AND I KNOW YOU ARE INDICATING DON'T GO

THERE-- BUT YOU WOULD HAVE TO SAY, WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH AN

EVOLVING OUTBREAK, WHERE YOU KNOW NOTHING FROM THE BEGINNING,

AND EACH WEEK AND MONTH THAT GOES BY, YOU LEARN MORE AND

MORE, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES-- WHICH IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT--

IS TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT A POLICY OR A RECOMMENDATION WHEN

YOU DON'T HAVE COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE.

AND THEN WHEN YOU MONTHS LATER KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW, YOU SAY, YOU

KNOW, IF I KNEW THAT BACK THEN, I REALLY WOULD HAVE ACTED OR

SPOKEN OR RECOMMENDED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.

THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE IS THAT WE DID NOT KNOW FROM THE GET-GO

THAT THIS VIRUS WAS EXTREMELY UNIQUE IN THAT MANY OF THE

PEOPLE WHO WERE INFECTED HAD NO SYMPTOMS, AND A SUBSTANTIAL OF

PORTION, UP TO HALF OF THE PEOPLE WHO TRANSMIT VIRUS,

TRANSMIT IT WHEN THEY HAVE NO SYMPTOMS.

EITHER THEY'LL NEVER GET SYMPTOMS OR THEY'RE IN THE

PRESYMPTOMATIC STAGE.

IF WE HAD KNOWN THAT IN THE BEGINNING, I THINK WE WOULD HAVE

BEEN MUCH, MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE IN SHUTTING THINGS DOWN.

BECAUSE UNDER THE RADAR SCREEN, UNTIL WE REALIZED IT, THERE WERE

A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SPREADING IT IN AN INSIDIOUS

WAY, WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT-- NOT DELIBERATELY, BUT WITHOUT

EVEN KNOWING IT.

AS SOON AS WE KNEW THAT, THEN IT BECAME CLEAR WE WERE DEALING

WITH A VERY, VERY FORMIDABLE VIRUS.

>> Stephen: NOW, AS I SAID, AMERICA'S DOCTOR.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE I GET EVERYONE'S ANSWERS HERE.

CAN YOU GIVE US RAPID FIRE ANSWERS IN A SEGMENT WE ARE

CALLING, "DOCTOR'S ORDERS."

NUMBER ONE, IF YOU'VE BEEN VACCINATED, CAN YOU GIVE THE

VIRUS TO OTHERS?

AND SHOULD YOU STILL WEAR A MASK?

>> YOU CAN GIVE IT TO OTHERS.

YOU SHOULD WEAR A MASK.

BUT RECENT DATA ARE INDICATING THAT THE LEVEL OF VIRUS IN YOUR

NASOPHARYNX, IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, IS EXTREMELY LOW.

AND I THINK IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS FROM NOW I MIGHT MODIFY

THAT STATEMENT AND SAY IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY UNUSUAL THAT YOU

WOULD TRANSMIT IT.

BUT RIGHT NOW, JUST TO BE CAREFUL, WEAR A MASK.

>> Stephen: SHOULD WE EVER SHAKE HANDS AGAIN?

>> ( LAUGHS )

YOU KNOW I THINK THE ANSWER IS A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO

WANT TO SHAKE HANDS, BUT I THINK HUMAN NATURE PEOPLE WILL GET

BACK TO THAT.

>> Stephen: WHAT ARE THE C.D.C. GUIDELINES FOR

VACCINATING PEOPLE?

IF I GET THE VACCINE, CAN I HIT THE CLUB TWO WEEKS AFTER I GET

THE SHOT?

>> NO, YOU SHOULDN'T HIT THE CLUBS UNTIL WE GET THE LEVEL OF

VIRUS DOWN SO LOW THAT THERE'S NO THREAT TO HIT THE CLUBS.

>> Stephen: IF SOMEBODY HAS ALREADY HAD THE VIRUS, SHOULD

THEY STILL GET VACCINATED?

>> ABSOLUTELY, YES.

>> Stephen: CAN WE STILL USE "I'M QUARANTINING," AS AN EXCUSE

TO GET OUT OF PLANS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF, EVEN

WHEN THINGS GO BACK TO NORMAL?

>> ( LAUGHS )

I THINK YOU CAN, IF YOU WANT TO, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF

TIME SOON.

>> Stephen: AND THIS IS THE UNIVERSAL QUESTION THAT EVERYONE

IN AMERICA, REALLY EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS ASKING: WHEN CAN

LATE-NIGHT HOSTS HAVE AUDIENCES BACK?

>> YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REASONABLY SOON.

I THINK WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT IS A GRADUAL

GETTING AUDIENCES BACK-- NOT NECESSARILY FULL CAPACITY-- AS

WE GET INTO THE EARLY FALL.

IF WE CAN GET THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF PEOPLE VACCINATED BY

THEN, I THINK WE COULD START TO TAKE THOSE STEPS TOWARDS

NORMALITY, WHICH, IN MY MIND, MEANS GETTING AUDIENCES, AT

LEAST PARTIALLY CAPACITY.

>> Stephen: DR. FAUCI, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

IT'S A PLEASURE TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN.

WE'RE DO IT MORE FREQUENTLY THAN ONCE A DECADE, I HOPE.

>> THANK YOU, STEPHEN.

I APPRECIATE YOU HAVING ME.

>> Stephen: DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, EVERYBODY.

WHEN WE COME BACK, AN APPEARANCE FROM THE PRESIDENT, VICE

PRESIDENT, AND ALL THE BIGGEST NAMES IN HOLLYWOOD.

NO BIG DEAL.

STICK AROUND.

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