In a Wednesday appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host escorted Dr. Anthony Fauci to the pharmacy to get his latest COVID-19 booster shot.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president told Colbert, “I’m actually eligible to get a booster,” before the late-night host suggested the outing.
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After walking down a New York City street to the pharmacy, the two perused the Halloween section. “What scares you the most?” Colbert asked.
“A thousand kids coming to my door breathing on me,” responded Fauci.
The pair then put on fuzzy cat ears before Fauci told viewers, “Don’t forget to get your booster.”
In the interview prior to their field trip, Fauci was prompted to respond to President Joe Biden’s recent 60 Minutes interview, in which he claimed the pandemic is “over.”
He defended the president, claiming he meant the initial phase of COVID-19, which saw high rates of infection and hospitalization, is over.
“It’ll feel over in a real sense when it gets to such a low level in society that it doesn’t disrupt the social order,” he further told Colbert. “But the level that we’re at, Stephen, is not really acceptable. I don’t feel comfortable at all saying we can live with 400 deaths a day.”
“Everybody here is still in their masks,” the host explained as the camera panned to the audience. He even said they still conduct some regular testing as a safety measure.
Last night on #Colbert: Dr. Fauci and Stephen took a little walk down the block to snag a booster shot. Plus, former Obama chief speechwriter @codykeenan talks about his new book. It’s a good one, don’t miss it!
Listen: ? https://t.co/PVUlZ6qA0u
Watch: ?️https://t.co/PVwwSxgZDV pic.twitter.com/HIJN778ozG— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 6, 2022
“We have got to get the level of infection and the level of deaths and hospitalizations far, far lower. So it’s not eradicated — we’re not going to completely get rid of this — but we want to get it to a level that’s so low that it just doesn’t disrupt society,” Fauci continued.
Fauci further predicted “we might” see a cold-weather COVID-19 wave, but it could be mitigated by people getting their booster and flu shots.
Asked if people will need to continue getting boosters “for the rest of our lives,” Fauci said he isn’t sure. “We would hope that you do not have to do that,” he said, further explaining that it is “conceivable” that a regular booster could be necessary, similar to a flu shot.
“When should we still be wearing masks?” Colbert questioned the doctor. Fauci claimed that it will depend on the various levels of infection in a given community.
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Fauci further pleaded with people to continue listening to CDC recommendations regarding the virus.
