The attacks on me, quite frankly, are attacks on science

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Topline

Dr Anthony Fauci hit back at criticism from Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, insisting that his advice throughout the coronavirus pandemic was based on scientific evidence and that science and truth are under attack.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified in… [+] before a House subcommittee last year.

Getty Images Key Facts

Republican lawmakers have accused Fauci of flip-flopping on wearing masks and downplaying the possibility that the pandemic started with a lab leak in Wuhan, China.

Fauci told MSNBC Chuck Todd on Wednesday that his coronavirus advice has evolved with new data: it’s called. . . the scientific process, Fauci said. As you get more information, it is essential that you change your mind, because you must be guided by current science and data.

While Fauci initially dismissed the idea of ​​wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the virus in early March 2020, he changed his mind after new evidence emerged that masking significantly reduced transmission, as well as the news that up to half of new cases at one point in the pandemic were transmitted by an asymptomatic carrier, Fauci said on Wednesday

Fauci has expressed concern that political attacks will discredit him and other health officials and damage their credibility with the public when issuing public health recommendations.

People want to fire me or put me in jail for what I did, Fauci said. Namely, follow the science.

crucial quote

The attacks on me, quite frankly, are attacks on science, Fauci said Wednesday. All of the things that I’ve been talking about, consistently, from the very beginning, have been fundamentally based on science. Sometimes these things were truths that bother people.

Key context

Fauci is no stranger to criticism. The nation’s top infectious disease official was a frequent target of former President Donald Trump, who called Fauci a disaster and floated the idea of ​​firing him. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all those idiots, Trump told reporters in October. Fauci and his family have also received death threats since he was thrust into the national spotlight. Republican attacks on Fauci escalated after the Washington Post and Buzzfeed News obtained thousands of Fauci’s emails via a freedom of information request and published them last week. In an online video posted Tuesday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) accused Fauci of working with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckbergerg and selecting facts to cobble together a narrative so the public only knows what ‘he wanted. [people] to know. Fauci said Wednesday he had no idea what she was talking about.

Further reading

Fauci briefed world health leaders last year on possibility of Covid coming from lab, former FDA chief says (Forbes)

This is nonsense: Fauci responds to GOP backlash over his Covid Origin emails (Forbes)

Here’s why Republicans say Fauci is increasing vaccine hesitancy (Forbes)

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