After Blue States Ease Covid Restrictions, Fauci Tells MSNBC He Doesn’t Think It’s ‘Political’
Dr. Anthony Fauci told MSNBC Monday he does not believe that leaders in states that have eased Covid restrictions in recent weeks were motivated by politics.
Democratic-majority states such as California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have eased significant restrictions, such as mask mandates, since late in January.
There is a notion among critics of the leaders of those states that the easing of such restrictions is political, with crucial midterm elections fewer than nine months away and polling taking a sharp turn against continued heavy restrictions and mandates.
Democrats are widely expected to face challenges to their slim House and Senate majorities, and Republican critics have suggested their motivation is to make life easier for voters to help mitigate some losses.
As the Associated Press reported last week, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in a new campaign ad pointedly noted that “people are tired” of many covid measures in a spot that conspicuously featured no face masks.
On Hallie Jackson Reports Tuesday, the host commented on the easing of restrictions following a spike in Omicron infections.
Jackson said, “It felt like an avalanche of more and more states loosening up and ditching mask mandates.”
She then asked Fauci, “In your view, is it happening too soon?”
Fauci said that case numbers are “going in the right direction,” before he added: “You don’t want to be declaring victory prematurely, and that’s the reason why the CDC, who continues to monitor these things and will make modifications of recommendations as we see the trajectory continue to come downward.”
Jackson then asked Fauci, “So, do you think the local politics are overriding the science, or largely no?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s the politics,” said Fauci, who is not averse to weighing in on political aspects of covid policy. “I think it’s the different evaluation of what’s right for a particular community.”
He continued, clarifying his current view.
When you use the word politics, I’m not sure it’s that. I just think at the local level, there’s a strong feeling of needing to get back to normality. Now, if you look at the science of it, I mean the direction is going in the right direction. Are we there yet in every single place throughout the country? I don’t believe so. But there are some places that are looking at what the trajectory is, and are saying let’s go with it.
Watch above, via MSNBC.
