“Congratulations to Italy where 81% of the population has received a dose of the anti-Covid vaccine. In the US , 74%. Italy has done better than the US in vaccinating its citizens”. This was stated by Anthony Fauc I, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid ), in the lectio magistralis in streaming at the Sapienza University of Rome, where he received an honorary doctorate in ‘”Advances in infectious diseases, microbiology , legal medicine and public health sciences “.
The virologist of the White House, with regard to the degree, also focused on the more personal side of this prestigious award: “If my grandparents and my parents were alive, they would be honored and proud of me. Italy and their country. of origin “.
The ceremony was opened by the opening speech of the rector Antonella Polimeniwho recalled that the recognition assigned to Fauci is motivated by the fundamental role of the virologist “in the study of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, with particular regard to the first pioneering studies on HIV infections, the development of measures to contain transmission and effective therapies against AIDS. Sapienza looks to Anthony Fauci as an example of excellence and dedication in the field of communicable diseases – said the rector – He has made an immense contribution to pioneering studies for the understanding of AIDS and the development of new therapies and prevention tools “. Looking at the 2 years of the Covid pandemic that have just passed, “I would like to emphasize in particular the impact and contribution of Fauci at a global level – added the rector – Herclear and simple communication made him one of the scientific voices most listened to by people and politicians ”
In a note from the University we read that” Fauci was the creator of the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), which contributed to contain the spread and mortality in disadvantaged countries; He was also a scientific advisor to seven US presidents, leading epidemic and pandemic disease control initiatives. The results of his research activity place him among the most influential scientists in the world, with 1,170 papers indexed on Scopus and an H-index equal to 182 “.
In the course of his speech, the virologist said:” That from covid-19 and a pandemic never seen beforeover the past 100 years. We have 308 million cases and about 6 million deaths in the world and these are certainly underestimated figures. ”
And he stressed:” We are in the midst of Omicron’s extraordinary peak . If we look at the 7-day data of the growth of cases in the US and in Italy, there is a parallelism in the exponential increase of the pandemic. In the future we should control the pandemic and this will be possible if we manage to vaccinate as many people as possible with the first dose and booster “, remarked Fauci, who pointed out that there is also strong resistance to immunizations in the US.
The virologist insisted on the importance of vaccinations and boosters also providing aid to developing countries in order to have “a global response to a global epidemic. We urgently need a universal vaccine because we will see other variants and also other coronaviruses. . Eventually we will return to normal life , better sooner than later, “he concluded.
“We are really pleased that La Sapienza has honored Dr. Fauci with an honorary doctorate for his contribution in the field of public health”. Thus Thomas Smitham, in charge of interim affairs at the Embassy of the United States of America in Italy, during the award ceremony, by the La Sapienza University, of the honorary research doctorate in “Advances in infectious diseases, microbiology, legal medicine and public health sciences “to Anthony Fauci.
