Following an interesting break from media appearances, the controversial chief medical advisor to the White House made comments about what Americans should do in the event of another COVID surge.
It has been two years since the COVID pandemic began and in the U.S., more and more Americans are beginning to live normal, pre-pandemic lives. Throughout those two years, Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor, became the government's mouthpiece on what must be done to fight COVID.
Now, as COVID restrictions ease, Dr. Fauci has once again spoken to the public about another possible COVID surge.
The Gateway Pundit reported that Dr. Fauci and the media are "slowly pivoting back to COVID" after the White House chief medical advisor suggested to go back to more COVID restrictions such as mandatory masking in the event of a surge of new infections. According to the latest CDC data, there has been 963,244 deaths and 79.4 million cases in the U.S. But
Dr. Fauci pointed out that the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have dramatically decreased following the Omicron surge, but that people must watch out for what is called "stealth Omicron," the Omicron subvariant.
"We have to be careful that if we do see a surge as a result of that, that we're flexible enough to re-institute the kinds of interventions that could be necessary to stop an additional surge," Dr. Fauci told ABC 10 News San Diego. The White House chief medical advisor also highlighted the need for booster shots of the COVID vaccine. He said that boosters are "holding pretty strong at around 78% efficacy against hospitalization."
"But if it goes any lower than that, you certainly would consider the possibility of a 4th dose boost," Dr. Fauci suggested. This week, Pfizer formally asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve their fourth dose of the COVID vaccine for Americans 65 and older, CBS News reported.
On Sunday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told "Face the Nation" that, "the way that we have seen, it is necessary, a fourth booster right now." FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said that they had received the request and intend to review it "as expeditiously as possible using our thorough and science based approach."
Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci is fearlessly entertaining the thought of being investigated by Congress, The Blaze reported via the Gateway Pundit. According to the report, Dr. Fauci suggested that in the event Republicans take control of Congress, they may target him but find nothing.
"They'll try to beat me up in public, and there'll be nothing there," Dr. Fauci said. "But it will distract me from doing my job, the way it's doing right now."
The report added that Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who has been vocally opposing Dr. Fauci for years, proposed an amendment to banish the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director position, which Dr. Fauci has held for years. However, the proposal did not make it through the Senate health panel. Sen. Paul proposed removing Dr. Fauci's role and suggested to replace it with three directors who would lead three new institutes, namely the National Institute of Allergic Diseases, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and National Institute of Immunologic Diseases.
Sen. Paul vowed in December 2021 that if Republicans take over the Senate this year, he would lead them as chairman of the health committee to look into Dr. Fauci, saying that he would "pledge to use the subpoena power to get every last record about the origin of the virus, about Fauci."
