Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top expert on infectious diseases, responded Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who claimed COVID-19 cases are rising in New York because of herd immunity, during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Paul had asked Fauci if he had changed his mind about the effectiveness of lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus. Paul has criticized lockdown measures in the past, arguing that they deal unnecessary and detrimental blows to the national economy.
“It’s important that we the people not simply acquiesce to authoritarian mandates on our behavior without first making the Nanny State prove their hypothesis,” Paul said. “What we do know is that New York and New Jersey and Connecticut and Rhode Island still allowed the highest death rates in the world.”Â
“You’ve misconstrued that Senator and you’ve done that repetitively in the past. They got hit very badly and they made some mistakes,” adding that New Yorkers are now “looking at the guidelines” developed by the White House Coronavirus Task Force to stop the spread.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Fauci struck down Paul’s further claim that New Yorkers have developed herd immunity to the coronavirus.
“I challenge that, Senator,” he said. “You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said, that in New York [the infection rate is] about 22 percent. If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that.”
You can watch the exchange below.
"You misconstrued that, Senator. And you've done that repetitively in the past." — Fauci is out of patience with Rand Paul pic.twitter.com/6xRoO19ZYL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 23, 2020
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
