“It’s a good rule when you are walking into the West Wing of the White House to advise the president, vice president, or the White House staff to remind yourself that this might be the last time you will walk through that door. If you base your advice on the truth and on scientific evidence and do not sugarcoat anything, it is likely that sooner or later you will be telling the president or the vice president something they really don't want to hear, something that may point out a problem with how their administration is handling an issue. Sometimes when advisers do that, their opinion is no longer sought. It's a version of shooting the messenger. Some people might fall into the trap of never wanting to disappoint a powerful figure, and so they slant their advice toward pleasing rather than informing. Don't fall into that trap.' I hope I would have arrived at the wisdom Jim imparted on my own, but he was explicit about it, and continued, 'If you're consistent and totally honest, you might risk being being dropped as an adviser, but this approach with the right kind of president or vice president can also engender respect and a durable relationship.” PresidentAdviceHonestyIntegrityWhite HouseVice PresidentFauciWest WingAnthony Book:On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service Source: On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service
“It's extraordinary how many people have a postviral syndrome that's very strikingly similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.” CoronavirusCovid 19Chronic Fatigue SyndromeMyalgic EncephalomyelitisMe CfsCoronavirus QuoteCovid 19 QuotesPost Viral Fatigue Syndrome Author:Anthony Fauci
“People associate science with absolutes that are immutable, when in fact science is a process that continually uncovers new information. As new information evolves, the process of science allows for self-correction. The biological or health sciences are different from the physical sciences and mathematics. With mathematics, two plus two equals four today, and two plus two will equal four a thousand years from now. Not so with the biological sciences, where what we know continues to evolve and uncertainty is common. This uncertainty is magnified in the context of a deadly pandemic when there is already anxiety and suffering. With COVID, our understanding of transmissibility, severity, vulnerability of different people, and level of protection, to name a few, continually evolved, and our medical advice had to change to reflect this. This is exactly what happened in early March with the question of whether to wear masks and how effective they were.” ScienceChangeMathematicsComplexity Book:On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service Source: On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service