‘You are not listening’: Fauci scolds Sen. Rand Paul for misconstruing New York’s coronavirus battle
Dr. Anthony Fauci put Sen. Rand Paul on blast during a testy congressional hearing Wednesday after Paul trash-talked New York’s coronavirus response.
Paul remains skeptical of face masks and social distancing despite contracting COVID-19 in March.
“You misconstrued that, senator, and you’ve done that repetitively in the past,” Fauci seethed. The doctor explained that New York’s death toll is particularly high because it “got hit very badly” at the outset of the pandemic, when “some mistakes” were made because very little was known about the virus.
Fast-forward to today, New York is seeing infection rates near 1% or lower because guidelines on disinfection, face masks and social distancing are being rigorously followed, Fauci said.
“Or they’ve developed enough community immunity that they’re no longer having the pandemic," Paul interrupted.
Fauci continued, “
You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said — that in New York about 22%" of the population have contracted the virus. “If you believe 22% is herd immunity, I believe you are alone,” Fauci added.
Though Paul and some others insist that herd immunity is a viable strategy for fighting the virus, infectious disease experts have warned that there’s no evidence that it actually works. In fact, researchers recently said it appears people can contract COVID-19 more than once, a finding that would render the concept of herd immunity moot.
