The latest clash between Fauci and Senator Rand Paul comes at a time when the number of Covid-19 cases is skyrocketing due to the micron variant, as well as hospitalizations that hit a record 145,982, surpassing the previous record of around 142,000. in January 2021.
The United States is the most grieving country in the world for a pandemic that has killed more than 840,000 people and is struggling to recover from a fifth wave of infections.
Senior officials from President Joe Biden, including his Chief Medical Officer Fauci, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rochelle Valency, and Acting FDA Director Janet Woodcock, have been called in to testifying in the Senate about the pandemic.
While most lawmakers have focused their questions on the lack of adequate tests and new and confusing rules on how the infected should get out of isolation, Senator Paul, who criticized mandatory vaccinations and even refused to vaccinate, accused Fauci of personal responsibility. for the death of people.
Paul said Fauci was the “chief architect” of the US response to Covid-19 and blamed him for roughly 450,000 deaths since Biden took office, although the vast majority of deaths were unvaccinated, and health officials, including Fauci. constantly championed vaccines.
“You are attacking me personally and without any evidence of what you are saying,” Fauci replied.
Fauci, 81, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, added that the attacks had distracted him from his important work in tackling the pandemic and made him the target of violence. “All of a sudden it incites crazy people and I have threats to my life, harassment of my family and my children, obscene phone calls,” he complained.
Fauci recalled that at the end of December, on the way from California to the capital Washington, a man was arrested, armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and cartridges for it. The man said that he wanted to kill Fauci because he claimed that the hands of the scientists were covered in blood.
Fauci then showed a printout of Paul’s website that had a sign that read “Fireman Dr. Fauci” along with an invitation to donate to the Republican campaign. “You are creating a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain,” he added.
A new wave of covid has swept the health care system in the United States, already under pressure from the Delta option and mass layoffs.
Although Ómicron causes severe cases in smaller numbers than Delta, it infects more people due to its highly contagious nature.
The latest figures from New York State show that covid-19 vaccines continue to protect well against severe cases. As of December 27, 4.6 vaccinated per 100,000 people were hospitalized per week, compared with 58.3 per 100,000 among the unvaccinated, with an age-adjusted hospital admission vaccine rate of 92%.
During the micron wave, there was a difference between morbidity and hospitalization rates compared to previous waves, but the effect was not as strong as in the UK, where Ómicron hit first, but with the vaccination rate and the highest reinforcement.