Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Perhaps some early indication of leveling of new admissions in NYC. Careful. Complete craziness with this Fauci cult hero stuff. See below in Washington Post today: Fauci socks, Fauci doughnuts, Fauci fan art: The coronavirus expert attracts a cult following Doughnuts bearing the likeness of Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, rest on a plate at Donuts Delite in Rochester, N.Y., on March 25. (Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat & Chronicle/AP) By Antonia Noori Farzan

at 5:15 a.m. EDT Early last week, Nick Semeraro wanted to find a way to honor Anthony S. Fauci. As the owner of a small doughnut shop in Rochester, N.Y., he had been closely tracking the latest news about the coronavirus pandemic. And night after night, he’d been impressed by how Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, approached the crisis in a calm, knowledgeable manner. So, as a tribute, Semeraro put the renowned immunologist’s face on a doughnut. Expecting to sell a few hundred, he was shocked when the store sold out day after day, with thousands flying off the shelves. Donuts Delite was besieged with requests to ship the buttercream-frosted creations all over the country, and one Fauci fan drove three hours just to pick up a dozen. Soon, bakeries in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania followed suit, using edible paper to decorate pastries with Fauci’s likeness. “We had no idea it was going to blow up this big,” Semeraro told CNN. “We didn’t know everyone else felt the same way we did.” While Fauci was already a respected scientist before the outbreak, his appearances during White House press briefings have made him a household name and an unlikely celebrity. With his straightforward demeanor and willingness to contradict President Trump, he’s begun to develop the same kind of cult following as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who inspired countless “Plank like RBG” tank tops and a bizarre illustrated children’s book, respectively. Even as whole swaths of the global economy collapse, the pandemic has created a robust cottage industry of Fauci-themed merchandise, including bottle openers, magnets and mugs. On Etsy, you can buy “Honk for Dr. Fauci” bumper stickers, prayer candles depicting “St. Fauci” and socks printed with Fauci’s face. Graphic T-shirts bear slogans such as “I Need a Hero” and “In Dr. Fauci We Trust.” If so inclined, you can even decorate your home with an “I Heart Dr. Fauci” throw pillow, or purchase a replica of Fauci’s jersey from the time he captained the basketball team at Manhattan’s Regis High School. Lingua Franca, which sells cashmere sweaters embroidered with resistance-friendly slogans for $380 and up, recently began taking orders for an army-green “Dr. Fauci Fan Club” knit. In honor of Fauci’s Italian heritage, a clam bar in Long Island named a linguine dish after him this week. (Available for pickup only, “the linguine with white clam sauce shares origins with Fauci, as the sauce itself was invented in the Fauci Family’s native Sciacca, Italy,” the restaurant claimed in a statement.) As countless Americans remain glued to the news while trying to stay indoors, a robust Fauci fandom has flourished online. On Facebook, the “Dr. Anthony S. Fauci Fan Club” has over 32,000 members. Thousands more congregate in groups with names such as “Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Man, the Myth, the Legend,” “Dr. Fauci Speaks, We Listen” and “Dr. Fauci Memes for Social Distance Teens.” An unassuming 79-year-old public servant who has advised six presidents, Fauci has become a “reliable constant in a time of uncertainty,” The Washington Post’s Ellen McCarthy and Ben Terris reported. But his admirers — and there are a lot of them — worry that it’s only a matter of time before he’s sidelined by Trump. When Fauci missed a White House news conference earlier this month, panic erupted on Twitter, along with speculation that he could be sick. There was palpable relief when he resumed his regular position at the podium the following day and appeared to hide some exasperation as Trump referenced “the deep state.” Fauci later explained that he had simply been trying to dislodge a lozenge from his throat. But the much-analyzed “Fauci facepalm” had already become a meme, deployed by liberal members of what’s known as the resistance. Fauci’s newfound fame can be partially attributed to his willingness to engage with all forms of media — in recent weeks, he’s gone on a Barstool Sports podcast, chatted with basketball star Steph Curry on Instagram Live as Barack Obama listened in, and appeared on “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah.” But it also undoubtedly helps that his fans tend to take social distancing seriously and consequently have ample spare time to produce fan art or perform songs written (or modified) in his honor. On social media, Fauci’s virtual fan clubs peruse old photos of the infectious disease expert in search of “comfy turtleneck vibes,” stitch his face on embroidery hoops and discuss erecting statues as tribute. They frost his name on cookies and joke about constructing shrines in his honor. Prominent activists and entertainers confess to wanting to marry him, or have him tuck them into bed. Fauci has remained characteristically modest about his new status as a cult figure. “Well, that’s very nice,” he responded when McCarthy and Terris mentioned that people all over the country were praying for him. Of course, that means that his fan base has only continued to grow. “I never met a guy that, worldwide, he is so loved,” Semeraro, the Rochester doughnut shop owner, told CNN. “And a month ago, we never knew his first and last name.” Disclaimer: Any third-party material in this email has been shared for internal use under fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law, without further verification of its accuracy/veracity. It does not necessarily represent my views nor those of NIAID, NIH, HHS, or the U.S. government. Chris Cuomo has COVID-19. Big issue today is whether w should be recommending masks for everyone. We probably were too strong in saying masks do not work. I mentioned this on CNN (Sciutto) this AM. Still local issues regarding availability of ventilators and PPE and tests. TF discussions still make it seems like they are out there, I I have no confidence that they are really getting to the people who need them. Important phone call tonight organized by David Barr with many ICU and other docs throughout the country. They calim that PPE is running out, vents are needed and teting that takes several days to get results are essentially useless to them. I promisedto bring their concerns to the TF. Trump continues to become more and more enamored of me. Joe Grogan organizing small group of me, Deb. Redfield, Hahn, Giroir to solve practical issues. I am concerned that we are not really connecting the dots from TF to the trenches. Is Giroir really up to this. Means well. I also have doubts about Pete and FEMA We shocked the public when Deb and I mentioned at the Press Conference that there could be 100,00- to 240,000 deaths in the USA even with maximal mitigation. I explained that this is the “model”, but we can definitely get the deaths down below that since it is the data that always trumps the model PRESS: CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto; White House Press conference.