Fauci berates Rand Paul at congressional hearing [Video]

• Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his visible irritation at Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during Wednesday’s congressional hearing about the pandemic.
• When the senator claimed that the current low COVID-19 infection rate in New York may be caused by herd immunity, Fauci responded, “If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that.”
• The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases also pointed out that the senator has been mistaken in other public comments about the concept of herd immunity.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, expressed his visible irritation at Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during Wednesday’s congressional hearing after the senator claimed that the current low COVID-19 infection rate in New York may be caused by herd immunity. 

Fauci, the country’s top infectious diseases doctor, berated Paul for making the suggestion. He then pointed out that Paul had also been mistaken in other public comments about the concept of herd immunity. 

Fauci remarked, “No, you’ve misconstrued that, senator, and you’ve done that repeatedly in the past.”

Dr. Fauci has had just about enough of Rand Paul, basically calls him a moron.

“This happens with Senator Rand all the time… If you believe 22% is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that. pic.twitter.com/BdsuGsz8TI— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 23, 2020

Fauci was testifying during a Senate Health Committee hearing that discussed the pandemic.

Paul had frequently questioned the effectiveness of lockdowns as a way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. At the hearing, he claimed that closing down bars, movie theaters, and limiting restaurant capacity still had no impact, since the New York tri-state area had the highest coronavirus death rate in the country. 

Paul remarked, “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. 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.” 

Fauci explained that New York indeed got hit “pretty badly,” but has since brought its infection rate down to about 1 percent after New Yorkers followed guidelines like wearing masks, staying outdoors more than indoors, and maintaining physical distance.

Paul then suggested that the low infection rate is because New Yorkers have already developed enough “community immunity,” a theory that appeared to annoy Fauci.

“I challenge that, senator,” Fauci said.

He then asked for more time to finish his response, “because this happens with Senator Rand all the time.”

Fauci continued, “You are not listening to what the director of the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] 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.”

Source: The Hill