Infectious disease expert Fauci urges Americans to trust medical experts

Anthony Fauci said that those who have a track record of giving recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data are society's best bet.

America's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci urged Americans to put their faith in "respected medical authorities" to navigate the pandemic, saying that those who have a track record of giving recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data are society's "best bet".

"So, if I were to give advice to you and your family, I would say that's the safest bet to do. I believe, for the most part, you can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I'm one of them, so I think you can trust me," Fauci said Tuesday afternoon.

Fauci's comments came on a day that marked a major milestone in the search for a COVID-19 vaccine. An experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci's colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., has shown that it activates people's immune systems exactly the way scientists hoped. This vaccine candidate will start on a 30,000-person study by July 27.

Fauci has consistently maintained that he remains "cautiously optimistic" for an effective and safe vaccine latest by early 2021.

Fauci was speaking at a Georgetown University webinar. His comments come amidst a White House smear campaign, spraying into public view a longlist of "mistakes" Fauci has made since the pandemic began.

Leading public health experts across the country have reacted to the politicisation of the coronavirus response, saying no other president has driven a wedge between public health officials and society like Trump has done.

The coronavirus has already killed more than 136,000 Americans and cases are surging to alarming levels across the US south and south west. The US death rate per 100,000 population has ticked up from the high 30s to 41 per 100,000.

Fauci sidelined by the White House despite coronavirus surge: Report

Despite his leading role in the US' fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, America's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has been sidelined by the White House

Despite his leading role in the US' fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, America's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has been sidelined by the White House, according to a media report.

Citing a senior White House official, The Washington Post report said on Sunday that Fauci "no longer briefs (President Donald) Trump and is never in the Oval (Office) anymore", Xinhua news agency reported.

According to The Washington Post report, Fauci has not spoken to Trump since "the first week of June".

Since the pandemic hit the US, the Trump administration and especially the President himself have had strained relations with the scientist over the country's coronavirus policy, it said.

In recent days, with coronavirus infections and death surging in most US states, Fauci, whose TV appearances were reportedly "scuttled" by the White House, has been more critical of the country's response to the pandemic.

In a live stream event on July 7, Fauci warned against a "false narrative" of a falling COVID-19-related death rate even as Trump continued to tout alleged progress the US had made in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak by citing a falling U.S. mortality rate.

In another interview with The Hill news website on July 9, Fauci said that hard-hit US states should pause moving forward with reopening their economies.

"I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process, looking at what did not work well and try to mitigate that," he said.

However, Fauci stopped short of calling for full lockdowns.