Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed charges that he “associated himself” with Democratic leaders during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic on Sunday, stating that he would “certainly” participate with a House Republican probe into the pandemic.
The retiring senior White House medical advisor told NBC’s “Meet The Press” anchor Chuck Todd as he made the rounds of Sunday morning news talk shows, “I don’t affiliate myself with anyone.”
He said, “I am a physician, a scientist, and a public health professional.” “Regardless of your political affiliation, I adhere to public health values.”
Fauci, the 81-year-old departing head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the remarks in response to a question regarding former Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks on the show last week.
Pence, 63, stated at the time, “I believe Dr. Fauci ultimately linked himself with many Democratic governors who turned interim regulations into permanent policies in their state.”
Fauci said, “I admire the former vice president, we worked well together in the White House, but I disagree with him.”
Dr. Fauci states that he must “respectfully disagree” with former Vice President Mike Pence, who claimed that Fauci “associated himself” with Democrats.
Dr. Fauci: “I don’t affiliate myself with anybody. … I am a doctor, a scientist, and a public health professional.” pic.twitter.com/VoHg1hOhA1
27 November 2022 — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress)
Fauci also appeared on “Face The Nation” on CBS, where he stated that he would “absolutely” cooperate with a potential investigation into his handling of the pandemic, and that he would be willing to testify before Congress if called by Republicans who have accused him of lying and abusing his power.
“Oh, obviously. In other words, I am strongly in favor of reasonable supervision. Absolutely. Given my 38 years as director, I’ve spoken before Congress literally hundreds of times in numerous oversight sessions, Fauci stated.
“I’m not political at all, period. “I’ve never gone there, and everybody who knows anything about me is aware of this,” he said.
“I was not previously active in politics. And I will not engage in politics at this time. I would be more than glad to explain publicly or privately what we’ve done, and I could defend and explain anything from a public health perspective.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed claims that he “associated himself” with Democratic leaders during the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic on Sunday.
Face the Nation on CBS
Fauci, who admitted that portions of the pandemic response were “bungled,” blamed “an amplification” of anti-science and vaccine rhetoric when asked why the problem had become politicized.
In his 54 years at the NIH, he has never witnessed the acceptance or rejection of a life-saving intervention being strongly influenced by a person’s political philosophy.
“I mean, why would you ever want to see more fatalities among Republicans in red states than Democrats in blue ones? Due to the reason that there are fewer vaccinations. You do not want anyone to become ill.”
Fauci, who had COVID-19 earlier in the year, advised Americans to do speedy COVID-19 tests before attending Christmas parties and to “keep up on booster” shots, citing the increase in transmission of BQ. 1, and its variations BQ. 1.1.
The retiring main White House medical advisor told NBC’s “Meet The Press” anchor Chuck Todd, “I don’t affiliate myself with anyone.”
Face the Nation on CBS
“We have a long way to go to optimize our protection against COVID,” Fauci told CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan. “It’s a tragedy, and rather counterintuitive, that a wealthy nation with all the vaccines we need is using them at a much lower rate than we should.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2,600 Americans died from the illness last week, compared to over 13,000 during Thanksgiving Week a year ago.
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