After first insisting that masks were unnecessary, the government’s highest-paid worker, Dr. Anthony Fauci (who earns more than the president and every four-star general), mandated that everyone wear them at all times (he eventually said two masks are even better than one).
But it turns out it was an incorrect assumption. Masks have been shown to be ineffective in several scientific studies. While Dr. Fauci previously stated that he and his colleagues “botched” the response to COVID-19, he is now claiming innocence.
ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl questioned Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, if it was a “mistake” for him and his colleagues to advise schools to be closed for as long as they were.
I don’t want to use the word’mistake,’ Jon, because if I do, it gets taken out of the context that you’re asking me the question on, Dr. Fauci explained. When you undertake anything like that, there will be unintended negative repercussions, which we should and have recognized.
Dr. Fauci said he often urged health officials to do “all we can to keep the schools open.”
That video clip is never shown. Whenever schools are shut down, it is usually blamed on Fauci. There was zero involvement on my part. Dr. Fauci stated, “I mean, let’s get down to the facts.”
Dr. Fauci, America’s preeminent immunologist, was therefore not involved. Does he have no idea that the highest ranking government officials, who were not themselves great immunologists, were only following the advice of the top immunologist?
The terrible repercussions of closing schools for over a year are reflected in the test scores. This month, the Department of Education issued a report showing that 9-year-olds’ average reading and arithmetic skills plummeted by 5 and 7 points, respectively, between 2020 and 2022. When compared to math, reading was the first subject to a loss in test results and the first subject to a decline in test scores overall in over three decades.
Dr. Fauci revealed last month that his staff messed up their reaction to COVID-19. In regards to school closures, he stated, “Remember, the safety of children is equally vital, yet you have to be conscious and not deny that there are negative implications for protracted periods of keeping children out of school.”
Dr. Fauci has admitted that he and his colleagues “botched” certain parts of dealing with COVID-19 when it entered the United States in March 2020. These include his changing views on the effectiveness of masks and the extended time it took to make fast testing available statewide.
We didn’t realize masks were effective in settings other than hospitals. In an interview broadcast last week from the Texas Tribune Festival, the doctor speculated that “decent masks for the folks who were caring for individuals” were in short supply.
He also shifted blame for the United States’ failure to provide swift testing onto other parties, saying, “They did not obtain the business engagement in the tests soon.” He did not specify who “they” were but added that “they” had persisted with their own testing.
Dr. Fauci has a tremendous ego and is seeking to establish his reputation as the savior of America, so he wants to step aside before the end of the year to prevent any investigations of him when Republicans win control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections.
A pillow in his living room featuring a photo of him has become a symbol of his inflated sense of self-importance. His own words, “It is what it is,” are embroidered on the cushion.
All throughout the epidemic, Dr. Fauci’s colossal ego was on full show. He was on television almost every week, and at one point, he even went from sports program to sports show debating whether NFL players should be required to wear face masks to prevent the spread of the virus known as COVID-19.
Dr. Fauci, in an interview with ABC, laughed as he described how the epidemic had made him famous throughout the world. Mr. Karl recalled how, at one of the COVID briefings, a reporter had screamed over him, interrupted him, and demanded him to introduce himself by name. That was probably the last time somebody asked you for identification, so I can assume that’s how it went.
A lot has occurred since then, and it’s been a fantastic adventure that we’ve all been on together and are going on, according to Dr. Fauci, so “yeah, I guess so.”
However, Doc, you won’t be commanding that expedition for much longer. I sincerely hope you disappear after you retire. Don’t worry about your legacy, Tony; we’ll figure it out.
