All of that social distancing we did during the COVID-19 pandemic, standing at least six-feet apart from one another -- was apparently all for nothing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who became the face of the coronavirus pandemic response, admitted to lawmakers that social distancing recommendations "sort of just appeared" without any scientific basis.
Fauci made the admission during a two-day, 14-hour transcribed interview with the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio).
"Dr. Fauci claimed that the '6 feet apart' social distancing recommendation promoted by federal health officials was likely not based on any data. He characterized the development of the guidance by stating 'it sort of just appeared,'" Wenstrup said in a statement.
Additionally, Fauci testified that the lab leak hypothesis — which was often suppressed — was not a conspiracy theory. He also admitted that America's vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic could increase vaccine hesitancy in the future.
Fauci's interview "revealed systemic failures in our public health system and shed light on serious procedural concerns with our public health authority," according to Wenstrup. Those "failures" included pushing vaccination mandates on schools and businesses.
"It is clear that dissenting opinions were often not considered or suppressed completely. Should a future pandemic arise, America's response must be guided by scientific facts and conclusive data," said Wenstrup.
During the interview, Fauci claimed he "did not recall" pertinent COVID-19 information or conversations more than 100 times.
"It is also concerning that the face of our nation's response to the world's worst public health crisis 'does not recall' key details about COVID-19 origins and pandemic-era policies," Wenstrup said, adding that "nearly 1.2 million Americans lost their lives to a potentially preventable pandemic."
The subcommittee investigations are focused on the origin of COVID-19, coercive mandates, gain-of-function type research and more.
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Previously, the subcommittee revealed evidence that Fauci prompted the drafting of the now infamous "Proximal Origin" publication in April 2020 to disprove the lab leak theory and "fulfill his vision of a single narrative in support of a natural COVID-19 origin." He then citied the paper from the White House podium without disclosing his involvement in prompting the publication.
The subcommittee also released emails that showed Fauci was aware of risky gain-of-function research occurring in Wuhan, China prior to the emergence of the pandemic, but never revealed this to the public. The research involves genetically manipulating a virus to understand its potential impact in real life situations.
In the email, Fauci wrote: "Scientists in Wuhan University are known to have been working on gain-of-function experiments to determine the molecular mechanisms associated with bat viruses adapting to human infection, and the outbreak originated in Wuhan."
During an interview earlier this year, Fauci would not commit to one theory over the other, saying definitive proof lacks either way.
The Chinese government has continuously denied that COVID-19 could have come from one of its labs in Wuhan.