Dr. Anthony Fauci. REUTERS/Al Drago
STAY HOME TO STOP THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
New Yorkers working together and staying home can slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)
in New York City. When you go out for essential needs, work or to get fresh air, keep distance
COURIER LIFE, APRIL 3-9, 2020 3
BY JESSICA PARKS
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the
seasoned epidemiologist at
the helm of the nation’s fi ght
against the rapidly-spreading
novel coronavirus, is the proud
product of southern Brooklyn,
where his mother and father
ran their beloved family pharmacy
for decades.
Fauci, who has served as Director
of the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
under six presidents, was
born in Bensonhurst and later
moved to Dyker Heights where
his parents, Stephen and Eugenia
Fauci, opened up Fauci
Pharmacy on 13th Avenue and
83rd Street.
Now, at the age of 79, the infectious
disease expert fi nds
himself as somewhat of a
pseudo-celebrity, having been
appointed to the White House
Coronavirus Task Force by
President Donald Trump,
where he has been hailed as one
of the most trustworthy sources
during the crisis, according to a
study by Business Insider.
Fauci’s long history of medicine
began on 13th Avenue,
where he delivered prescriptions
for his parents as a young
boy, his longtime friend John
Gallin said at a 2007 ceremony
for Fauci.
As a child, Fauci attended
Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy,
a Catholic school in Bensonhurst
that closed last June,
and later went to Regis High
School, a free Catholic high
school in Manhattan’s Upper
East Side, where he captained
the school’s basketball team.
Despite the family pharmacy
having long-been shuttered, his
friend said the respected doctor
continues to exhibit Brooklyn
qualities, which have proved
helpful when steering through
pandemics — such as the AIDS
crisis, Ebola, and Zika.
“Tony’s experiences as the
streetwise kid growing up in
Brooklyn undoubtedly helped
him weather the storms of activist
groups,” Gallin said. “He
was the target of their criticism
and even burned in effi gy. Instead
of being angry, Tony noted
the pain of the people in these
activist groups and approached
them as a physician approaches
a suffering patient.”
For his work on the various
outbreaks of deadly diseases
worldwide, President George
W. Bush awarded the medicine
man the Presidential Medal of
Freedom — considered to be
the nation’s top civilian honor.
To combat the current outbreak
of COVID-19, the pandemic
veteran has spoken up
for emergency precautionary
health measures, such as stayat
home orders and domestic
travel bans, and said the president’s
extension of social distancing
guidelines until the
end of April was a “wise and
prudent decision.”
“We feel that the mitigation
that we are doing right now is
having an effect, it is very diffi
cult to quantitate because
you have two dynamic things
going on at the same time,”
Fauci said on March 29 at the
White House. “You have the
virus going up and you have
the mitigation trying to push
it down”
Fauci has recently been vilifi
ed by far-right websites who
believe he is working to undermine
Trump, which they argue
can be seen when he has
corrected the president during
press conferences, according to
the New York Times.
Meanwhile, an upstate bakery
Donuts Delite is selling
batches upon batches of their
special Fauci donuts, which display
a printed headshot of the
Brooklynite in place of the donut’s
hole as an homage to the
immunologist for serving on
the frontline of the pandemic.
BROOKLYN BOY
Dr. Fauci, central fi gure in national coronavirus
response, draws roots in southern Brooklyn
NEW YORKERS:
between yourself and others and take the following precautions.
Text COVID to 692-692 for real-time updates or visit nyc.gov/coronavirus.
Call 311 to report harassment or discrimination. Call 888-NYC-WELL, text "WELL" to 65173
or chat online at nyc.gov/nycwell to connect with a counselor.
*Messages and data rates may apply. Check your wireless provider plan for details.
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Oxiris Barbot, MD
Commissioner
PROTECT YOURSELF
AND OTHERS
• Keep at least 6 feet between
yourself and others.
• Wash your hands with soap
and water often.
• Cover your nose and mouth
with a tissue or sleeve when
sneezing or coughing.
• Do not touch your face with
unwashed hands.
• Monitor your health more
closely than usual for cold or
flu symptoms.
IF YOU ARE SICK
• Stay home.
• If you have a cough,
shortness of breath, fever,
sore throat and do not feel
better after 3-4 days,
consult with your doctor.
• If you need help getting
medical care, call 311.
• NYC will provide care
regardless of immigration
status or ability to pay.
REDUCE
OVERCROWDING
• Stay home.
• Telecommute if possible.
If you do go out:
• Stagger work hours away
from peak travel times.
• Walk or bike.
• Do not gather in crowds.
PROTECT THE
MOST VULNERABLE
• Stay home if you have
lung disease, heart disease,
diabetes, cancer or a
weakened immune system.
• Stay home and call, video
chat or text with family or
friends who have one of
these conditions.
/coronavirus
/nycwell