Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, is speaking out about the previous administration’s coronavirus pandemic response.
Appearing on CNN’s “New Day” Friday, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said,”There’s no secret. We’ve had a lot of divisiveness, we’ve had facts that were very, very clear, that were questioned. People were not trusting what health officials were saying.”
Fauci was asked if the “lack of candor” or “lack of facts in some cases” from the Trump administration cost lives.
“You know it very likely did,” Fauci responded.
He continued, “You know I don’t want that, John, to be a sound bite but I think if you just look at that you can see that when you’re starting to go down paths that are not based on any science at all…That is not helpful at all, and particularly when you’re in a situation of almost being in a crisis with the number of cases and hospitalizations and deaths that we have.”
Watch Fauci’s interview below:
The lack of candor and facts “likely did” cost lives last year, Dr. Fauci says.
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) January 22, 2021
“There’s no secret. We’ve had a lot of divisiveness, we’ve had facts that were very, very clear, that were questioned. People were not trusting what health officials were saying.” pic.twitter.com/naqYQhvgJK
Fauci also estimated during the “New Day” interview that when the U.S. reaches “somewhere between” 70% to 85% with COVID-19 vaccinations then the nation could reach herd immunity “within a reasonable period of time.”
“Hopefully, that will be as we enter into the fall and end the summer,” he added.
During Thursday’s White House press briefing, Fauci shared “how much different” it feels working under the Biden administration compared to former President Donald Trump’s.
He added, “It was very clear that there were things that were said, be it regarding things like Hydroxychloroquine and other things like that, that really was uncomfortable because they were not based on scientific fact.”
Fauci also said, “The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what the evidence, what the science is and know that’s it, let the science speak, it is somewhat of a liberating feeling.”
Early Thursday, Fauci announced that the U.S. would remain a member of the World Health Organization, reversing Trump’s decision to withdraw, as IJR reported.
“When you’re dealing with a global pandemic, you have to have an international connectivity,” Fauci said on “Good Morning America” Thursday.