A Port Washington resident and the founder of a group for survivors of COVID-19 will moderate a conversation with White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci next week as part of its COVID-19 webinar series.
Photographer Diana Zicklin Berrent founded the Survivor Corps shortly after she became one of the first in the Port Washington area to test positive for coronavirus, as a group to organize and promote resources for those suffering from and surviving COVID-19.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has been frequently interviewed by the media since the outbreak came to the United States in March, will take questions moderated by Berrent, who encourages interested parties to email them in advance.
She also requests that the inquiries “be limited to plasma, the support of science, and the advocacy for” COVID-19 survivors, and will not take media questions. The discussion will be filmed on Friday, Oct. 2, and posted online later that day.
Berrent said in an interview that she had requested a meeting with Fauci by “putting a request in to the press office” at the National Institutes of Health.
“It was unbelievable, but we got a confirmation by the next morning,” Berrent said.
She added that the interview will be one of the first times where Fauci will discuss the effects of COVID-19 “long-haulers.”
“This will be the first time that he’s been asked to speak to the long-term effects in any depth, so that should really be interesting,” Berrent said.
Among Survivor Corps’ efforts are organizing efforts for survivors to donate blood and plasma for research studies, listing recovery centers for once the virus runs its course, and collecting news on treatment for those still suffering.
The webinar will be posted to survivorcorps.com/webinars, on Oct. 2 at an unspecified time in the afternoon. Questions can be submitted by email at hq@survivorcorps.com before the day.
