 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci has denied any involvement in COVID-19 related school shutdowns.
Mr. Fauci
who has long served as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases bore his mind in an interview with ABC, according to the
Washington Examiner.
Asked by
journalist Jonathan Karl whether it was a mistake to close schools for so long,
Fauci initially defended the procedure and pointed to deaths from COVID-19 among children but denied having
anything to do with the practice, the Washington Examiner reported. He said he
had advised against the policy.
"If you
go back, and I ask anybody to go back over the number of times that I've said
we've got to do everything we can to keep the schools open, no one plays that
clip," he said. "They always come back and say, 'Fauci is responsible
for closing the schools.' I had nothing to do [with it], I mean, let's get down
to the facts."
According to
the Washington Examiner, Fauci’s denial are at odds with his public statements
throughout the pandemic, including the earliest days when school closures were
being planned when Fauci spoke in favor of shutdowns.
On March 20,
2020, Fauci told PBS "So, clearly, in certain circumstances, particularly
in areas where there's community spread, the schools should be closed,"
according to the Washington Examiner.
In September 2020, Fauci told CNN that schools should only be opened "once the virus is under control," the Washington Examiner cited a post by National Review.
In August
Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert announced he was leaving
the federal government in December.
“I’ve gone
into this campus and into the labs and into the hospital every day, including
most weekends, for 54 years. The idea of walking away from it obviously is
bittersweet,” Fauci told The Associated Press.