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Could There Be a Better Combination?

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on . Posted in General.

I just finished watching Steph Curry and Dr. Fauci have a Q&A on the coronavirus on IG. It was the best. An extremely healthy, hugely popular young athlete and an old, extremely personable expert on the coronavirus talking in an informal question and answer session, with Steph (I’m gonna call him Steph as if we go way back) analyzing and curating questions asked ahead of time by thousands of Steph’s followers to guide the conversation with Dr. Fauci.

When I read about this Q&A, I knew immediately I wanted to watch it. Steph went to Davidson College (because Virginia Tech only offered him a walk-on spot—dumb, dumb, dumb) and whatever the subject, he knows what he’s talking about (plus, he can make his free throws.) He’s an activist. He and his wife Ayesha have already started a Feeding America fundraiser to keep Americans from going hungry during the virus crisis. He changed the game of basketball with his three-point shooting, and he’s cute as a button. Combining Steph and Dr. Fauci was brilliant.

For those of you who couldn’t watch, I’m sharing the notations I made on what they were saying. If you want to watch it yourself, Steph saved the video, and it’s on his IG account at @stephcurry30

Steph opens by asking what he says was the most-asked question he received: can you get it a 2nd time? Dr. Fauci says, we don’t know, but if it acts like other viruses, the chances are overwhelming that you CANNOT get it again.

When Step asks about the warm weather rumor (the virus will disappear in the summer), Dr. Fauci says that with benign coronaviruses such as the flu and cold, warm weather does tend to decrease the virus, but with this one, we simply don’t know. It’s not unreasonable, but you don’t want to count on it.

Steph asks, what is the risk of lifting the social distancing too early? Dr. Fauci says it’s not an all or nothing process. Until this is over, everybody should practice social distancing, no big crowds, washing hands, being more careful than you normally would be.

As they talk about the vaccine, Dr. Fauci says there will be no vaccine until next winter, which will be relevant because he believes the virus will cycle into next season. The vaccine is important for then, not for what we are dealing with now.

Dr. Fauci says when the virus does come back, we should be able to immediately identify, treat, and contain. We will not have to lockdown again. “We can prevent what we are seeing in NYC and beginning to see in New Orleans,” he said, sending a shiver through my NOLA heart.

Fauci says at the last task force meeting, they said, “Let’s get those masks and flood it.” Private companies are stepping forward and wanting to do it (making and distributing the masks) themselves. The government is not having to force the companies to do it.

When Steph asked for the worst misinformation Dr. Fauci wants to dispel, Dr. Fauci said it’s those panicked to death and those who think it’s nothing at all. “We have to, as a country, pull together, don’t get frightened, use the energy to confront it and put an end to it.” The world isn’t going to end AND this is not nothing at all. The wrongness is in the extremes. The truth is something in the middle.

As I watched these two men, my love of humanity swelled. The impact of the virus is going to get very bad in areas where I am and where people I love are. But this calm, easy-to-follow conversation was a balm to my soul. Thank you, Steph and Dr. Fauci (who I’m not gonna call Tony…okay, thank you, Tony!).


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