On Saturday, NBC's "Today" fact-checked Dr. Anthony Fauci's theory that a dramatic COVID surge occurred because of crowded football stadiums that recently held sports events, reporting that it "never happened."
Shaquille Brewster, an NBC reporter, shut down false claims from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director that sporting events and packed stadiums have become "super-spreader events" for COVID.
Brewster denounced Fauci's claims, saying that in the past few weeks, crowds as large as tens of thousands went unmasked and sat side-by-side at stadiums, "All while doctors warned of games becoming potential super-spreader events. A frightening prospect at the time with hospitals already on the brink," Fox News reported.
Brewster also cited Fauci's comments on how packed college games would cause a spike in new COVID cases during an appearance on MSNBC in September. Host Joy Reid described the sports events as a venue for COVID to "have a feast." She asked the NIAID director his opinion.
"I thought the same thing. I think it's really unfortunate," Fauci replied. Brewster denounced Fauci's comments saying that "it never happened" and that there is currently a "steep decline in every college football state across the south." He even pointed out how in Florida, COVID hospitalizations fell up to 64% in September despite 90,000 fans attending games at the [University of Florida] Gators' stadium.
Brewster attributed the decline of new COVID cases to three things: outdoor venues, a vaccination bump, and greater natural immunity in the population after the contagious Delta variant infected younger people. OutKick founder Clay Travis even reported in September that there was an absence of COVID surges when the college football season began.
Instead, Travis underscored the decline in several states, with 5% in Georgia, 32% in South Carolina, 30% in Mississippi, 22% in Arkansas, 23% in Alabama, and 9% in texas. He added, "Every single SEC state where millions of people have gone to college football games has not led to a feast of COVID as Fauci predicted."
Fauci, in the meantime, claimed he stands by the science when asked why he appears to be very "controversial." Yahoo! News reported that Fauci told Fox News host Chris Wallace, "I have stood for always making science, data and evidence be what we guide ourselves by...what I do and I try very hard is to be guided by the truth and sometimes the truth becomes inconvenient for some people so they react against me."
People are reasonably reacting negatively towards Fauci and his agency, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released new guidelines for how family and friends should interact during the fast-approaching holiday season. In fact, new recommendations say that family members who are not vaccinated are encouraged to stay at home and spend the holidays alone or with other unvaccinated relatives, WND reported.
Those who are unvaccinated should also wear a mask indoors, which is most likely where family will gather during the holidays. Expect family photos to be slightly awkward with masks serving as markers for those who have yet been unvaccinated.
