Once again, Rand Paul tried to argue with Dr. Anthony Fauci over COVID-19 safety regulations, and once again, Fauci dropped the Kentucky senator into the fryer and cooked him nice and crispy. In yet another tense exchange, Paul kicked things off by attempting to downplay the severity of the pandemic by claiming that people who’ve already been infected by COVID-19 have little to no chance of being infected again, so they don’t need to get vaccinated or bother wearing a mask. He started in a hole right there. However, Paul then made things personal by attacking Fauci for wearing two masks even though he’s been vaccinated.
“What studies do you have that people that have had the vaccine or have had the infection or the vaccine are spreading the infection?” Paul asked. “If we’re not spreading the infection, isn’t that just theater? You’ve had the vaccine and you’re wearing two masks, isn’t that theater?”
Sen. @RandPaul to Dr. Fauci
“You’ve been vaccinated and you parade around in two masks for show… You’re defying everything we know about immunity by telling people to wear masks who have been vaccinated.”
pic.twitter.com/d6VXUFGXzM— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 18, 2021
Fauci, as always, was having none of it. Via Business Insider:
“No, it’s not — here we go again with the theater. Let’s get down to the facts,” Fauci responded, telling Paul that the studies he cited “look at in-vitro examination of memory immunity” and pointing out that the authors “specifically say, ‘this does not necessarily pertain to the actual protection, it’s in-vitro.”
Fauci said he agreed with Paul that those who have already been infected likely have six months of immunity against the strain of COVID-19 they were initially infected with, but not against emerging variants and mutations of concern, including the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants.
Fauci elaborated by noting cases in South Africa where people who were exposed to the first “wild type strain of COVID-19” were infected later by the new variant. However, Paul refused to listen and continued to demand to know what studies have shown hospitalizations for reinfections while ignoring Fauci’s repeated examples of the variants causing reinfection. Eventually, Paul retreated to his earlier accusation that Fauci is “parading around in two masks for show,” which prompted the infectious disease expert to inform the senator of the facts.
“Let me just state for the record that masks are not theater, they are protective,” Fauci said.
Dr. Fauci to Sen. Rand Paul: "Here we go again with the theater. Let's get down to the facts." pic.twitter.com/z3zaCclao0
— The Hill (@thehill) March 18, 2021
(Via Business Insider)