Dr. Anthony Fauci answers questions as a part of the Madison Vision Series at JMU

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - A town hall was conducted with CNN correspondent Jim Acosta, a JMU graduate, moderating the conversation at JMU.

Dr. Anthony Fauci also visited the Valley Monday. He’s an infectious disease and allergy physician.

He became a household name over the last three years being a face of the pandemic through his health updates. Dr. Fauci was a part of the Madison Vision Series at JMU.

The discussion was related to the COVID-19 pandemic, where it started and where the U.S. is now.

Dr. Fauci debunked theories about where the COVID-19 virus was generated.

He said whether it was a natural occurrence or leaked from a lab, both are still possibilities because neither has enough concrete evidence to definitively prove one true over the other.

If he were to know then what he knows now, Dr. Fauci said he would handle the beginning stages of the pandemic differently.

”I think the CDC and the surgeon general and I would’ve absolutely been pushing for people to start wearing masks even when there are only five to 10 cases in the country and no deaths,” Dr. Fauci said.

Dr. Fauci said in 2020 they didn’t realize how easily transmittable the virus was and they didn’t take into account how many transmissions were from people without any symptoms.

Dr. Fauci said everything learned from the COVID-19 pandemic will help the United States be better prepared for the next pandemic.

He said inevitably, there will be another pandemic, whether this next year or decades from now.