OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
In a recent interview, former White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci embarrassed himself by defending the importance of mask-wearing as COVID cases surge once again.
Expressing his concerns, he stated, “I would hope that if we get to the point that the volume of cases is such and organizations like the CDC recommends – CDC does not mandate anything – recommends that people wear mask.”
Fauci’s long history of hypocrisy, lies, and flip-flops have cause many Americans to no longer trust him.
Fauci’s mask propaganda dies suddenly on LIVE TV when CNN host confronts him with the definitive study proving masks don’t work 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/04S0iPbdMY
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 5, 2023
“I would hope that people abide by that recommendation and take into account the risks to themselves and their families,” he added.
Dr. Fauci, who also led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health until December 2022, raised questions about a Cochrane study from January 2023 that questioned the effectiveness of masks.
He acknowledged, “When you’re talking about the effect on the pandemic as a whole, the data is less strong. But when you talk about an individual basis of someone protecting themselves … there’s no doubt that there’s many studies that show that there is an advantage.”
The Cochrane study, conducted by researchers from prestigious universities worldwide, compared mask usage to no masking.
Its findings indicated that “wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness and probably makes little or no difference in how many people have flu/COVID confirmed by a laboratory test.”
Despite the ongoing debate on the efficacy of masks, COVID-related hospitalizations recently rose by 18.8% between August 13 and August 17, with deaths increasing by 17.6% between August 20 and August 26, according to the CDC.
Fauci’s mask propaganda dies suddenly on LIVE TV when CNN host confronts him with the definitive study proving masks don’t work 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/04S0iPbdMY
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 5, 2023
However, these numbers remain significantly below the peak seen in January 2023, when weekly national hospitalizations reached 44,410, compared to 15,067.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, acknowledged the influence of the CDC’s recommendations, even though the agency doesn’t mandate masks.
He stressed the importance of proper mask usage, stating, “But masks only work at all if they are worn properly,” highlighting that a study from the University of Minnesota revealed that 30% of individuals don’t wear masks correctly.
Furthermore, Dr. Siegel expressed concerns about the impact of masking on young children, including challenges related to socialization and learning.
He suggested that masks might have practical utility in medical settings and doctors’ offices, especially when dealing with respiratory viruses, but raised doubts about sweeping recommendations.
Currently there are no U.S. states that have mask mandates in place.