As the truth is revealed, it is now widely accepted that the Covid-19 pandemic was due to an unintentional leak of a man-manipulated virus from a lab in Wuhan, China.
Appearing before Congress, former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe testified that Covid-19 was the result of gain-of-function manipulation that leaked from the lab. That, he emphasized, has been clearly established by both intelligence, science, and common sense.
So, what about the role of Dr. Anthony Fauci in all of that?
Fauci first won national fame for his handling of the HIV crisis in the 1980s as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) – but not before he was widely criticized for not being responsive to the disease ravaging the gay community. Aids activist Larry Kramer called out Fauci as “an incompetent idiot” and a tool of the establishment. (Sound familiar?)
Fauci eventually won general public acclaim for his handling of the Aids epidemic – based more on public relations than medical judgment. But still not among the most affected community.
Sean Strub– an entrepreneur and major LGBTQ fundraiser – retained an unflattering view of Fauci’s role. In a 2017 commentary in HuffPost, Staub accused Fauci of “delaying promotion of an AIDS treatment that would have prevented tens of thousands of deaths in the first years of the epidemic.” In terms of his reputation, Staub said Fauci was “rewriting history.” (Sound familiar?)
As with the Aids epidemic, Fauci was wrong before he was right in terms of Covid-19. As Covid appeared in China, Fauci assured President Trump and the nation that it would not be a major problem in the United States.
In several media interviews at the time, Fauci said Covid-19 was “not a major threat” to the American public – with the risk being “very low.” He initially underestimated the virus’ communicability and flip-flopped on the effectiveness of masks as a preventative measure and who should be vaccinated – and when.
What Fauci did not voluntarily reveal was his personal role in the funding of gain-of-function research in the Wuhan lab that created the virus. Not only did he provide money to the lab, but he did so by bypassing the normal procedures that would have put the decision before a government committee.
He circumvented the system and made it appear that the money was not used in the development of the Covid-19 virus. He lied – and arguably perjured himself before congressional committees.
When Robert Redfield – head of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) — suggested that there was a high probability that Covid-19 escaped from the Wuhan lab, Fauci accused him of making false statements. It cost Redfield his job.
It was Fauci, however, who distracted attention from the lab in China – and headed off any serious investigation of that possibility – seemingly to conceal his role in both the development of the virus and the cover-up as to its source.
Fauci has proven to be more effective at public relations and bureaucratic maneuvering than medical and scientific advice. It has made him and his wife – who is employed by the National Institutes of Health – the highest-paid bureaucrats in America.
They have amassed millions of dollars of income – not only from Uncle Sam but private sources. That includes the questionable practice of sharing royalties from his government work.
Fauci has retired from his 38 years as head of NIAID — and that is a benefit for the country and the role of government in medicine. However, the issue of his role in the Covid-19 pandemic is still a hot issue that dogs his reputation.
So, there ‘tis.