I am excited, honored and deeply moved in accepting the keys to the city of Sciacca in the name of my paternal grandparents Antonino Stefano and Calogera Fauci. Both were born in Sciacca, where my grandfather’s family ran a spa. In the early twentieth century, they and my maternal grandparents immigrated to New York via Ellis Island, which is how I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.
In my experience, many Italian American immigrants they were imbued with the spirit of gratitude transmitted by grandparents to parents and grandchildren. This spirit was the love for their new country, America, and the desire to give them something back. This was certainly the spirit instilled in me, originating from my grandfather, passed on to my father and from him to me. My way of reciprocating was to choose the public service. I decided to become a doctor as I was good in science but I also wanted to interact with people. By working at the National Institute of Health, I was able to continue seeing patients as well as conducting medical research. I became director of the institute in 1984 and have since had the added privilege of helping lead the biomedical response to emerging global health crises such as HIV, the flu pandemic, Ebola, Zica and now Covid-19.
Having recently entered the second year of this historic pandemic of Covid-19, we are all understandably exhausted and eager to end the suffering, tragic deaths and restrictions the pandemic has placed on our lives. Extraordinarily, we have several vaccines against Covid-19 which in record time have shown great effectiveness providing the hope of having the tools in hand to defeat Sars-Cov-2. While vaccines are essential to achieve this, we obviously cannot consider them the only way out of this pandemic. A two-pronged strategy will be needed: vaccinate as many people as possible in the shortest time, while continuing to consistently follow public health prevention measures until we get the better of this virus.
We can end this pandemic and we will. But how soon we can achieve this depends on each of us committed to being part of the solution. So thank you again for this extraordinary honor of the keys to the city of Sciacca that I will always keep as a tribute to my paternal grandparents. I really can’t wait to visit Sciacca, when the pandemic is over. Finally, allow me to add that I am very happy to know that the next scheduled intervention will be that of my friend and colleague al Nih, Dr. Luigi Notarangelo, who will lectio magistralis. I hope you enjoy his contribution and the rest of your congress. I wish you all good health and good continuation in your outstanding work.
The intervention at the conference
The XXIII conference of Siaip, the Italian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, is held online from 22 to 24 April (siaip.it). The speech by Anthony Fauci (which we publish above), with the virtual delivery of the keys to Sciacca by the mayor Francesca Valenti, expected at 5.30 pm on the opening day. Greetings from Siaip president Gian Luigi Marseglia, and honorary presidents, Giorgio Rondini and Alberto Giovanni Ugazio. Also on the 22nd, two o’clock readings teachers by Luigi Notarangelo, an Italian immunologist who works in the US for the same Nih di Fauci, and by Walter Ricciardi, professor of hygiene at Cattolica and scientific director of Maugeri of Pavia. With Giuseppe Di Mauro, president of the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Pediatrics, Marseglia coordinated the recent one Manual of prevention and management of indirect harm in children at the time of Covid-19.
April 12, 2021 (change April 12, 2021 | 11:11)
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