President Joe Biden praised Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday as he addressed the nation on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic from the White House.
Biden’s comments on Fauci — the president’s chief medical officer, who claimed a year ago this week that masks were not necessary amid the COVID-19 outbreak — came as Biden warned, according to scientists, that “things may get worse again.”
“The scientists have made clear that things may get worse again as new variants of the virus spread,” Biden said. “We’ve got work to do to ensure that everyone has confidence in the safety and effectiveness of all three vaccines.”
Biden then began to use Fauci, who previously stated he does not “think we’re going to be completely normal a year from now,” to emphasize that the vaccines are safe, saying he “told us” that.
“So my message to you is this: Listen to Dr. Fauci, one of the most distinguished and trusted voices in the world,” Biden continued. “He’s assured us the vaccines are safe. They underwent rigorous scientific review. I know they’re safe.”
This week, Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared on CNN where he insisted that the decisions to lift mask mandates around the country are “completely putting aside all public health measures,” claiming that the move is “inviting” another surge in cases. Fauci also claimed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to lift COVID restrictions in the Lone Star State was “ill-advised” and “quite risky.”
Fauci has also expressed that he wants to “get the world protected at the same time as we get economic recovery so that all the unintended consequences of shutting down begin to normalize, including other health issues that have arisen because of the shutdown.”
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