Dr. Anthony Fauci is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (also called NIAID). NIAID is part of the federal government that has big laboratories and collects information from doctors and scientists to help everyone in the United States be healthy and safe from diseases. You may have seen him in the news telling us about COVID-19. He has become one of the most important and famous voices during the pandemic -- and for good reasons!
In the past Dr. Fauci was in charge of learning about infectious diseases. Some of the infectious diseases Dr. Fauci studied that you may have heard of are HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and Zika. When people first heard about HIV/AIDS, Dr. Fauci helped the government learn more about this disease and medicines that could help people, so that less people got sick and some could get well.
Infectious diseases are caused by organisms. An organism is any living thing. Organisms usually need air, water, nutrients (food), energy, and a place to live. Not all living things need all of these at the same time, and many organisms live in and on our bodies. They are normally harmless or even helpful.
Sometimes some organisms cause disease. Some infectious diseases can be passed from person to person. Some are passed by insects or other animals. Vaccines can help prevent many infectious diseases from happening. Washing your hands with soap and water many times a day also helps to protect you from most infectious diseases.
Today, Dr. Fauci teaches all of us about how to stay safe during the COVID pandemic. Here are some of his tips:
Continue to be careful.
Remember to wear masks and to keep social distance because it can be hard to tell who may have COVID if they do not feel or look sick. That includes you! It is important to do this to keep yourself and others safe.
Learn and follow what doctors and scientists like Dr. Fauci tells us every day.
Doctors and scientists have learned something new every day about how COVID spreads, who gets sick, and how long people feel sick after they no longer have COVID. Even though some information tells us one thing, it is best to learn from the newest information to make sure you are taking care of yourself and others in the best way.
Be willing to learn new information.
It can be hard to know what is the newest information about COVID, but it is important to know that information can change. Scientists are still studying the COVID virus. Some information they learned before may not be as important or as correct as the newest information today. Be sure to change what you are doing to the newest information to keep everyone safe.
Learn more about Dr. Fauci:
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