Recently, a figure whom millions of Americans seek guidance from – Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, an adviser to both the Trump administration and the new Biden government – began to gradually increase his estimate of herd immunity.
In the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Fauci tended to quote the same estimate of 60 to 70 percent for most experts. About a month ago, he started saying “70, 75 percent” in television interviews. And last week, in an interview with CNBC News, he said “75, 80, 85 percent” and “75 to 80 or more percent”.
In a telephone interview the next day, Dr. Fauci acknowledged that he slowly but deliberately moved the goalposts. He’s doing this, he said, partly based on the new science and partly on his hunch that the country is finally ready to hear what he really thinks.
To be clear, I haven’t cared for Fauci’s feelings in a while. Partly because he changed his position many times when it was politically convenient. Furthermore, because of their omission lies, which make Americans believe things that are simply not true. Some examples:
This is my very short list of complaints with the Fauci. Don’t even mention his silence about low-cost generic drugs to treat COVID-19 in an outpatient setting. I probably should have discussed them at Festivus, since the annual disclosure of complaints is a much more valid holiday designation than Dr. Fauci’s Day.
Now, this longtime bureaucrat is telling us that he thinks 90% of us need to be vaccinated, although he admits he is not sure.
“When the polls said that only half of all Americans would get the vaccine, I was saying that collective immunity would take 70 to 75%,” said Fauci. “So when more recent polls said that 60 percent or more would accept, I thought, ‘I can increase this a little bit’, so I went to 80, 85.”
“We need to be a little humble here,” he added. “We really don’t know what the real number is. I think the actual range is between 70 and 90 percent. But, I will not say 90 percent. “
This publicity hunter talking about humility is the height of irony. His statement is also insane for several reasons.
First, there is absolutely no reason why children and young people should be vaccinated. This is an entirely new vaccine technology, whose long-term side effects are unclear. There is now a class action lawsuit against Zantac (ranitidine), approved by the FDA in 1983, and over-the-counter sales in 2004. The FDA withdrew the drug and it was linked to cancer, birth defects and death. Fauci, saying that we should give a vaccine distributed under an emergency use permit to children and young adults who have an almost zero risk of significant illness or death from COVID-19, is negligence.
Second, a growing body of research tells us that some segment of the population has reactive immunity to COVID-19 due to exposure to other coronaviruses, including those that cause the common cold. What we need to identify these individuals is a commercially available test for a title. Nobody with a positive titer, which shows an immune reaction, needs a vaccination.
Third, studies show that recovered patients have a robust immune response that can last for years. Patients who recovered from SARS, 80% similar to COVID-19, demonstrated active immunity 17 years after infection. Those who recovered from COVID-19 are showing lasting B cell immunity months after infection. The CDC also estimated that ten times the number of identified cases of COVID-19 is likely in the population. To date, 18.7 million positive tests have been recorded. Assuming a normal immune response to exposure, this means that 187 million would already have some functional immunity. That is about half of Americans.
Our elites can continue to worship the simple man, if they so desire. I will remain beyond the skeptic. Dr. Fauci has been involved in two recent pandemics. During the response to H1N1, he stayed away from the TV, never set off a public alarm – and that strain of flu was deadly to children. In COVID-19, he ignites the flames of panic, withholds information from the public and makes ridiculous pronouncements based on his “intuition”.
The only difference between these two pandemics was the politics of the time. For that reason, I hope that this octogenarian, who lived on taxpayer money for decades, will disappear again in the obscurity of where he came from.