During a recent Congressional hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) yelled — literally — at Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health about restrictions on American life meant to stem the spread of COVID-19. Although Fauci has faced criticism like Jordan’s petulant rant in the past, at no point has the health official had any firsthand responsibility for public policy, making Jordan’s meltdown not just embarrassing but brazenly ignorant. Would Jordan like to go yell in the faces of medical personnel who have spent months battling the virus and who, like Fauci, have pleaded with Americans to follow public health precautions?
Fauci is responsible for government-backed medical research, and he’s a chief pandemic adviser to the president — but he’s not the president, and he’s not and has never been personally responsible for implementing these policy decisions that sent Jordan pathetically spiraling. Besides, many areas are already pretty open anyway. Even California, which was one of the first states to impose restrictions, is slated for a full reopening on June 15.
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union over the weekend, Fauci dismantled Jordan’s arguments — again.
As he put it:
‘I don’t enjoy those kind of confrontations, but I mean it was very, very clear — he was talking about liberties that were being restricted — this has nothing to do with liberties. We’re talking about the fact that 560,000 in our country have died. We’re talking about 60-70,000 new infections per day. That’s the issue. This is a public health issue. It’s not a civil liberties issue.’
What good is so-called liberty if the people who could benefit from it are dead from a preventable disease?
Meanwhile, Fauci also pointed out the problems associated with documented hesitation on the part of Republicans towards getting vaccinated. Republican leaders have liked to complain about COVID-19 restrictions, but without vaccinations, the impetus for those restrictions will remain.
As Fauci added:
‘It is quite frustrating, because the fact that one may not want to get vaccinated — in this case, a disturbingly proportion of Republicans — only actually works against where they wanna be. They wanna be able to say that these restrictions that are put on by public health recommendations are things that they’re very concerned about. We’re all concerned about that. We share that concern. But the way you get rid of those restrictions is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and as expeditiously as possible.’
Check out his comments below:
Dr. Fauci responds to Rep. Jim Jordan's claims that covid restrictions assault American's liberties.
"We're talking about the fact that 560,000 people in our country have died. … That's the issue. This is a public health issue. It's not a civil liberties issue." #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/X2ZO8t98O5
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 18, 2021
