Section: Mobilizing public opinion in the fight against COVID-19
Winner: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases – NIAID (USA)
Dr. Anthony Fauci is a committed health care professional with a keen sense of civic responsibility. A gifted physician, scientist, educator and administrator, he is a government consultant, public health advocate and advocate of shared values. The jury is pleased to award him the 2020 Res Publica Prize. Indeed, Dr. Fauci is a symbol, the embodiment of the fundamental principles of the res publica – the public good.
This year the prizes are exclusively awarded to people and institutions engaged in the fight against the pandemic. In fact, Dr. Fauci preceded the events: in 2017 he insisted on the need to prepare for the encounter with this terrible pathogen. At the time, in a speech at Georgetown University, he expressed fears that an infectious agent could threaten humanity. Consistent with the style that denotes it, he spoke humbly (“I don't know where, or when“), but firmly (“but I'm sure it will happen“). This foresight reflects his ability to base every argument on evidence, and to communicate it with determination, without hostile posturing. His intellectual training and clarity of thought make him a great communicator, capable of providing realistic and reassuring advice. Respected advice because it is informed, reliable advice because it is honest. Knowledge and honesty are the two requirements of today's civic mobilization against the pandemic: they are also the two requirements of Anthony Fauci's personality.
Mobilizing public opinion is difficult in a world suspicious of science and authority, where social messages get more attention than technical evaluations and good policies. In this difficult situation, the Res Publica jury is particularly attentive to Fauci's encouragement to young people to become antagonists to the virus, rather than its emissaries.
The jury also admires Dr. Fauci's opinion on the covid-19 vaccine. By emphasizing the numerous manifestations and consequences of the virus, the new awardee has created a path of approach to the antidote to the virus. According to Fauci, the vaccine must be available everywhere, at a reasonable price, especially to protect vulnerable people. The Jury shares this rational and humane view on the covid-19 vaccine.
Over the years, as Fauci progressed in research on various diseases, he showed that he was interested in more than just healing ailments. He has expressed a broader preventive concern for individual suffering, elevating it to the level of society: he has shown that infections are not limited to individuals identified by age, income or culture. Viruses, so easily transmitted, threaten everyone; the reaction must be everyone's, for everyone's benefit. The jury shares this opinion.
To conclude, dear Dr. Fauci, your lifelong experience with pandemics has convinced you that the attitude of public health towards victims must be empathic. Identify with those who suffer and organize everything that needs to be done according to their needs, not in the light of the interests of those who assist them. This is another aspect of Fauci's professional personality that the Res Publica jury commends. Such an attitude has two important implications. It makes Dr. Fauci a public health activist rather than a conventional practitioner. An attitude that allows you to develop a relationship with infected people, gain their trust, push them to participate in clinical trials and undergo experimental therapies. The same attitude makes Dr. Fauci a mobilization activist rather than a narrow-minded bureaucrat. Addressing the needs of patients with an inclusive and humanitarian approach is a real revolution in healthcare worldwide.
The Jury is honored to award the Res Publica 2020 prize for collective mobilization to an extraordinary professional such as Anthony Fauci.