Thread by @DrewHolden360

🧵THREAD🧵

We’ve all seen the various flip-flops of the CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci over the last 18 months.

To help keep track, I present “Fauci vs. Fauci,” chronicling the twists, turns, contradictions and backtracks from the man and his agency.⤵️

To start, we need to focus on Dr. Fauci’s perspective on the virus itself and it’s risk to the United States.

In late January 2020, Fauci said that COVID was a “very, very low risk to the United States.”

I think it goes without saying that his perspective has evolved since.

One big, obvious area of flipping is around the benefits of wearing a mask. Dr. Fauci originally said that masks weren’t effective & publicly encouraged Americans not to buy them (guidance he doesn’t regret).

Now even vaccinated people need to wear masks.

And it wasn’t just the efficacy of masks in general. Less than a month ago , Dr. Fauci declared confidently that the CDC wasn’t going to change its recommendation about masking given the Delta variant.

We’ve already seen changes, and more are under consideration.

And how many masks were we all supposed to wear, anyway?

Was it one mask? Two masks? No mask? A face shield? Goggles? Depending on when you asked Dr. Fauci, it could’ve been anything.

Dr. Fauci was a leading voice suggesting for months that the pandemic couldn’t possibly have leaked from a lab in Wuhan (one that received US tax dollars, by the way).

That was until the consensus changed. And then, suddenly, the theory couldn’t be dismissed.

Complete 180

These reversals cut in both directions. Back in September, the CDC changed its rules - reportedly under political pressure - to reduce the people it advised getting tested, before quickly reversing course after pressure.

And you may have forgotten, but the CDC had a brouhaha also in September when new guidance about airborne transmission - including beyond 6 feet - went live on the agency’s website.

It was quickly scrubbed after a brief medical & news firestorm.

Not exactly confidence-inspiring

Schools have seen lots of reversals. In February, the CDC Director said schools could reopen safely w/o teachers vaccinated.

Well, a few calls from the teachers union later, the CDC reversed course. Weeks later, new guidance (sensing a theme?) was released focusing on teachers.

And we had plenty of flips when it came to teachers wearing masks.

First, the CDC said that they had to, back in May 2020.

Then earlier this month, the CDC said vaccinated teachers and students don’t need one.

But now? Back to where we started - masks for the vaccinated.

And who could forget the approval, then pause, then unpause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a move that diminished American confidence in vaccines in the midst of a vaccine rollout during a global pandemic?

The coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything any of us have seen before. There should be some charity and humility about bad predictions.

But the idea that Dr. Fauci and the CDC haven’t flip-flopped? That’s just preposterous.

Is it any wonder Americans don’t trust public health experts after this? Does it surprise anyone that Dr. Fauci and the CDC aren’t seen as reputable now?

These failures have consequences, and you can measure them in lives.

I don’t have anything to sell or subscribe to, but if you’re able, this is still an incredibly difficult time for local food banks. Here in DC, Capital Area Food Bank is well worth your charity. capitalareafoodbank.org

Important 🧵 addition. You may remember that, back in April, Dr. Fauci said new case levels meant we were primed for a surge.

As you can see by the case count, that didn’t happen (1/2)

But now, as blue states who have supposedly done everything right see their counts increase, Dr. Fauci has realized (too late, IMO) that case counts actually aren’t worth worrying about.

Interesting how that happens. (2/2)

This news comes on the heels of CDC Director Walensky giving the game away on isolation periods, admitting that their guidance changed not with any science but because they didn’t think folks could “tolerate” longer periods (again, now that it’s the Good Guys getting sick)

That led to a backlash from the media and powerful unions which - somehow - has caused “the science” to quickly shift once again, requiring “further clarification” imminently