Dr. Anthony Fauci has consistently told Americans we should “follow the science” in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. That is all well and good. However, compliance with that advice requires a roadmap. Since Fauci is the only scientist we can listen to in the public square, he is obligated to provide one, especially since the goalposts have moved continuously.
Restrictions began to prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed by “flattening the curve.” Even the hardest-hit areas, like New York City in the early pandemic, never came close to exceeding capacity. At the time, no one expected the area under the curve would change significantly, just the slope of the curve. As hospitalizations and deaths began to decline, the new metric to impose restrictions became positive tests. Lately, Fauci uses the level of virus in the community as the hurdle the nation needs to clear.
In congressional testimony on April 15, 2021, Representative Jim Jordan (D-Ohio) tried to force Fauci to provide detailed metrics for when Americans could expect to return to pre-pandemic life with their liberty and freedom restored. Dr. Fauci never answered the question, and Democrat members of the committee admonished Jordan.
Rep. @Jim_Jordan asks when Americans get liberty & freedom back.
Dr. Fauci: "You're indicating liberty & freedom. I look at it as a public health measure to prevent people from dying and going to the hospital…This will end for sure when we get the level of infection very low." pic.twitter.com/9Qu77kDIf4
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 15, 2021
Jordan repeatedly pressed for Fauci to provide objective guidance:
Jordan: Dr. Fauci, when is the time? When is the time? According to your opening statement now is not the time to pull back on masking, physical distancing and avoiding congregate settings. When is the time? When do Americans get their freedom back?
Fauci: When we get the level of infection in this country low enough that it is not a really high…
Jordan: What is low enough? Give me a number. I mean we had ’”5 days to slow the spread” turned into one year of lost liberty. What metrics, what measures, what has to happen before Americans get more freedoms?
Fauci: My message, Congressman Jordan, is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can the get the level of infection in this country so low that it is no longer a threat. That is when and I believe when that happens…
Jordan: What determines when? What? What measure? Are we just going to continue this forever? When do we get to the point, what measure, what state or what objective outcome do we have to reach before American get their liberties and freedoms back?
Fauci: You’re looking at it as liberty and freedom. I look at it as a public health measure to prevent people from dying and going to the hospital.
The last line is exactly why experts with a narrow view on a particular subject should advise politicians, not drive policy. Given the number of times the CDC and Dr. Rochelle Walensky have reversed public positions when they run afoul of the narrative pushed by Fauci, it is pretty clear that Fauci, not the agency, is driving policy recommendations. Fauci is also the one most often consulted by the corporate media, who then reinforce his messages.
The exchange continued with Jordan pressing Fauci to provide an objective measure that Americans could understand. Nationwide, deaths with COVID-19 have fallen to a seven-day rolling average of 750 per day. It is not clear that COVID-19 is the primary cause of these deaths or that it was even why a patient was admitted to the hospital because of the way the deaths are reported and widespread testing in hospitals. Cases have gone up 8% over the last 14 days, but the transmission hotspots are evident:
A national policy for COVID-19 mitigation is a ridiculous notion. Why should Americans in the white and yellow areas be managed the same as the deep-red areas? They shouldn’t. Georgia, which has never had a mask mandate and has not locked down since its initial reopening in May of 2020, has a seven-day rolling average of positive tests hovering around 1,200 in a population of 10 million. Is that a low enough level? The vast majority of new positive tests are in those under 60 years of age, hospitals are operating at expected occupancy, and non-COVID patients make up over 90% of patients. Fewer than 30% of ventilators are in use.
These are the types of guidelines that Jordan is looking for so communities can make decisions that make sense given the local situation. There are vast swaths of the country that should wonder why COVID-19 is still a primary focus of the national news organizations. The crisis portrayed on the screens of CNN, MSNBC, and other networks does not match the reality of where they live. Local news in hot spots like Michigan should be handling the messaging for that state. But CNN’s COVID-19 counter is undoubtedly serving its intended purpose in driving fear and anxiety about the virus.
Eventually, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) chimed in and said liberties would resume in the Capitol when 90% of the members of Congress are vaccinated. Jordan said he wants to hear from Fauci:
I want to know if that’s what Dr. Fauci thinks. Is it 90%, Dr. Fauci? Is it 90%? That’s what I’d like to know. Give us some objective standards versus when some things are reached we might be able to get back to having our liberty. When? What are the numbers?”
Fauci never provided the objective standards Jordan was seeking, and the exchange remained tense. The discussion ended when Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) began pounding her desk and told Jordan, “You need to respect the Chair and shut your mouth.” Isn’t she full of class? We all know the meltdown that would have occurred if that exchange had happened in reverse.
Without objective standards to measure, there is no way to hold the health bureaucracy accountable to any standard, which is pretty convenient for an organization that doesn’t appear to have any in the leadership ranks. Fauci is the one who praised the pandemic response of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and had an on-air love fest with him. Science requires objective measures and standards. Until Dr. Fauci can provide this type of guidance, local and state governments should continue to restore liberty and freedom for their citizens based on their best assessment of the local situation.
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