Anthony Fauci Hits Younger People With A Stark Coronavirus Reality Check

Dr. Anthony Fauci has a message for younger Americans who think the coronavirus won’t hurt them ― and who are going out anyway amid stay-at-home orders in cities and states around the nation.

“Even though you are young, you are not absolutely invulnerable,” he told “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah on Thursday. “For sure.”

While many younger people who get very sick from the virus have certain preexisting conditions, he said some don’t, including “young people ― 30s, 40s ― who are getting sick, getting into the hospital, requiring intensive care.”

Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, added that elderly people with underlying health conditions remain most at risk.

But he said there’s another reason to stay inside: Younger people can have milder symptoms, or even show no symptoms at all, but still carry the virus and pass it along to someone else.

“You can infect another person, who would then infect a vulnerable person, who will then die,” he said. “You have a responsibility not only to protect yourself, but you almost have a societal moral responsibility to protect other people.”