Millions of Americans have looked to Dr. Anthony Fauci for guidance since the beginning of the pandemic. And now that vaccinations are slowly beginning to roll out to the wider population, they’re looking to him again for advice on when it’s safe to resume life as we know it.
The country’s top infectious disease doctor isn’t addressing that directly, but now that he has received both doses of the vaccine, he is discussing what he is and isn’t doing differently. Fauci spoke with Washington’s WRC-TV about his routine these days.
For the most part, the 80-year-old Fauci is not making major changes just yet, but he’s hardly isolated.
While he’s not eating indoors at restaurants, he says he deliberately orders takeout to support his favorite places. “We could cook at home every night, but we go out deliberately to get takeout at least a few times a week,” he notes.
And though Fauci could likely use a vacation more than most people these days, he says he’s not flying and has no plans to in the immediate future because his age group is still at very high risk.
“It’s going to be gradual,” he says. “I would think that by the time we get to the fall, where we do get that umbrella of herd immunity, that we’ll really be approaching normal—that we can dine indoors, go to theaters, go to movies, go to indoor sports, things like that.”
He’s keeping the number of people in his home “very restricted,” he says. When he allows someone inside, it’s someone who has either been vaccinated or tests themselves regularly.
Fauci says he’s still going to the grocery store in the early hours on off-peak days and limiting his trips. He’s also taking near-daily walks of three to four miles.
“I’ll go to pretty places. I go to the C&O Canal or I’ll go down to the mall during the week,” Fauci says. “I have a route that I know exactly how long it is. I timed it on my iPhone. I go to three and a half, four miles, and I know where I’m going.”