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“Former top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci strongly denied suppressing the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak in China, telling lawmakers he never influenced research on the origins of the virus. In his first time addressing the allegations publicly since a 14-hour hearing held behind closed doors in January, Fauci also reiterated that he believes the most likely origin of the pandemic was animal-to-human transmission…
“Fauci, who retired in December 2022 after 54 years at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) including 38 serving as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.” Reuters
The left defends Fauci, arguing that the GOP is attempting to deflect blame for its own mishandling of the pandemic.
“Most of the hearing was spent trying to link the pandemic’s origin to a small National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant given to the New York-based nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, which, as planned, gave the funds to the Wuhan lab to study coronaviruses in bats. No one contests that this occurred…
“One of Fauci’s explanations for why the US-funded Wuhan work was not ‘gain of function’ research was simple: The genetic fingerprint of the Chinese bat coronavirus studied with US dollars was far too distant a corona-cousin to SARS-CoV-2 to make sequential sinister trial-and-error manipulation a plausible explanation…
“This does not mean that other scientists in Wuhan using other funds might have taken other coronavirus strains and tweaked and tickled the genetic make-up to create the disaster… But there is no way that one could link this to the US, to the NIH or to Fauci.”
Kent Sepkowitz, CNN
“Monday’s hearing took place less than a week after a Michigan farmworker became the third human to contract the H5N1 bird flu virus — and the first to show respiratory symptoms suggesting increased risk to humans. In that context, responsible lawmakers holding a hearing about the pandemic would focus on what we learned in the last pandemic… Yet the GOP members were unconcerned with preparation…
“Blaming everything on Fauci and the lab-leak theory diverts attention from Donald Trump’s atrocious handling of the pandemic: his attempts to dismiss it entirely, his turning over key pandemic management to his incompetent and unqualified son-in-law and his insane suggestion that people inject themselves with bleach… The GOP’s obsession poisons our ability to confront real public policy challenges.”
Paul Waldman, MSNBC
“Monday’s hearing was a colossal waste of time and energy. We are no closer to learning conclusively about the origin of COVID-19, nor steps the government can take to strengthen data collection, improve future testing and contact tracing, or address the racial and wealth disparities that were laid bare in that terrible time. Instead, Republicans, desperate to tarnish Fauci, went to town…
“Did [Fauci] make mistakes or contradict himself? He did. In the early stages of the pandemic, Fauci suggested that people didn’t need to wear masks before reversing himself. As he testified, the six-feet-apart rule for social distancing was not based on scientific studies but seemed to make sense… Most of us are willing to cut Fauci some slack for the imperfections, but his embrace of masks, social distancing and, of course, vaccines when they became available made him a figure of hatred for those Americans who do not like being told what to do.”
Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times
The right is critical of Fauci, arguing that he imposed draconian rules without sufficient scientific basis.
The right is critical of Fauci, arguing that he imposed draconian rules without sufficient scientific basis.
“Take a moment and think about how many public arguments and fights occurred from mid March 2020 until August 2022 because of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instruction to Americans to remain at least six feet apart in all public places and gatherings… Think about how many times you were told to ‘trust the science’ when it turns out… there was no science behind that rule. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the rule ‘sort of just appeared.’…
“And Fauci conceded that he couldn’t recall seeing any studies supporting masking for children or that the masking of children was against recommendations by the World Health Organization, and that no one ever bothered to do a cost-benefit analysis on the consequences of masking children… Elsewhere [there’s an] op-ed in the New York Times explaining, ‘Why the Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab, in 5 Key Points.’…
“The op-ed doesn’t have any bombshell new findings, but it is significant that (a) the Times chose to run it and (b) it includes maps and infographics and other bells and whistles to illustrate the points. This is more or less a declaration by the New York Times editorial board that the lab-leak theory is no longer a conspiracy theory… It’s not quite that ‘everything you were told during the pandemic was wrong.’ But a whole lot of it was.”
Jim Geraghty, National Review
“In the early weeks of the pandemic, I admired and trusted Fauci — thinking he stood for continuity, experience and restraint. In such an unprecedented time, it felt like having a steady hand at the wheel. But as two weeks to stop the spread turned into two years of moving the goalposts — and making up different metrics until we could return to normal — it was clear the doctor was developing a God complex. And much of our media became higher clergy genuflecting at every turn…
“Many adherents found in Fauci a religious purpose, with a mask and a needle serving as virtue symbols and ‘Trust the science’ as their main recitation. Anyone with questions or objections was a heretic to be shamed. We were forced to mold our society around these arbitrary and draconian rules. Children’s test scores went down; school absenteeism and depression shot up. Parents who advocated for schools to reopen were ostracized and called ‘grandma killers.’”
Kirsten Fleming, New York Post
“[Fauci is] being used as a scapegoat by so many who are equally culpable. What about Donald Trump and Joe Biden, who both handed Fauci the keys to the very vehicle he proceeded to drive off a cliff? What about the numerous state governors (many of whom remain in office) who committed vast abuses of power with Fauci's policies as a shield? What about the other members of the scientific community who engaged in Fauci's Stalin-esque intellectual cull of anyone who dared to dissent?”
Ian Haworth, Creators
