Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a Sunday interview, ahead of retiring from his position as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that he was not responsible for school closings.
Fauci admitted that the “deleterious collateral consequences” of school closures should have been realized, according to an ABC News interview. He continued to say that while he is criticized for being responsible for school closings during the COVID-19 pandemic, he “had nothing to do [with it].”
“If you go back, and I ask anybody to go back over the number of times that I’ve said we’ve got to do everything we can to keep the schools open. No one plays that clip. They always come back and say ‘Fauci was responsible for closing schools.’ I had nothing to do [with it]. I mean, let’s get down to the facts,” Fauci said to Jonathan Karl of ABC News.
At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Fauci said that in areas where there is “community spread” schools should be shut down, according to an interview with PBS News.
“So, clearly, in certain circumstances, particularly in areas where there’s community spread, the schools should be closed,” Fauci said.
In April 2020, Fauci criticized Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to keep schools open throughout the pandemic warning about the spread of the virus, in a White House Briefing.
“If you have a situation where you don’t have a real good control over an outbreak and you allow children together, they will likely get infected,” Fauci said.
In January 2021, Fauci said that President Joe Biden’s plan to reopen schools within the first 100 days of his presidency “may not happen” due to “mitigating circumstances.”
A year later in January, Fauci said schools should reopen but urged parents to vaccinate their children, continue day-to-day testing and wear masks in school.
As children are set to return to school amid spike in COVID cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci says “it’s safe enough” with precautions like masks and testing.
“I plead with parents to please seriously consider vaccinating your children.” https://t.co/OWs88tpkT4 pic.twitter.com/MeLk1CXL82
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 2, 2022
Fauci’s statements come as learning levels see historic lows; reading levels have fallen back to where they were in 1990, while math scores see its first-ever decline.
School districts that stayed remote, rather than returning to in-person learning, took the largest learning loss hits.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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