Fauci blasts Rand Paul for 'not listening' in COVID-19 hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci just blasted Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for repeatedly "not listening" to health experts during a COVID-19 hearing.

When Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before the Senate on Wednesday, Paul grilled him about whether he has "any second thoughts" about his COVID-19 "mitigation recommendations," with Paul questioning the purpose of coronavirus lockdowns, comparing the United States' approach to Sweden's, and claiming that "mitigation efforts have failed to flatten the curve" and that it's not possible to alter "the course of an infectious disease through crowd control."

Fauci strongly pushed back against Paul's assertions, telling him it's not "appropriate" to compare Sweden to the United States and that he doesn't regret recommending physical distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19. When Paul accused Fauci of "jumping up and down" over New York's handling of the pandemic despite its high number of deaths, Fauci again shot back, saying, "You misconstrued that, senator, and you've done that repetitively in the past."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Paul also claimed that New York has been able to lower its number of COVID-19 cases due to "community immunity," another assertion that Fauci pushed back against.

"I challenge that, senator," Fauci said. "...This happens with Senator Rand all the time. You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said, that in New York, it's about 22 percent. If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you're alone in that."

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned in the hearing that "a majority of our nation, more than 90 percent of the population, remain susceptible" to COVID-19. Brendan Morrow