Dr. Fauci, CNN’s Jim Acosta reflect on COVID-19

By CHARLOTTE MATHERLY

The Breeze see TOWN HALL, page 4

Hindsight is 20/20, or at least that was Monday’s focus as Dr. Anthony Fauci and CNN Chief Domestic Correspondent Jim Acosta (’93) led a town hall at JMU to talk about lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and reflect on the mistakes and successes that have followed the U.S. throughout the global health crisis.

The town hall closed out this year’s Madison Vision Series, lectures that bring leaders to campus to discuss current issues. Junior health sciences major Hugh McFarlane joined Acosta in interviewing Fauci.

The conversation centered on the processes behind some of Fauci’s most difficult decisions, including the political divide and misinformation that affected the pandemic, and how the country will move forward.

Acosta started by encouraging civil discourse during the town hall to get “a better understanding of what we all went through,” as well as for audience members to see “the human side” of Fauci.