Fauci Responds to Criticism of Initial Coronavirus Models: Policy Decisions Weren’t Made on Modeling Alone

Dr. Anthony Fauci was on Fox News tonight and he responded to criticism of the initial modeling on the spread of coronavirus and the death toll.

Martha MacCallum said, “I’d like to start with the question of these models which are now getting a lot of pushback in terms of their reliability when the numbers have swung 33% in just a couple of days.”

Fauci said he personally remains skeptical about models because they’re “only as good as the assumptions you put into the model.”

What’s more important, he said, is accumulating data that eventually “trumps any model” and allows people to modify it.

“I have no problem with people who are critical of modeling because modeling is inherently an imperfect science. So I don’t really have any quibbling with that,” he said.

MacCallum said one issue some people have is that those initial models “were what were used to shut down the United States economy.”

“The fear that those numbers, when we looked at 100,000 to 240,000 people, and that was I should point out including mitigation and social distancing. That was with that factored in. So that number has dropped by 33%. I guess you know, what kind of model is so far-off that it leads us to policymaking decisions that now are having such dire consequences?” she asked.

Fauci responded by saying those big decisions were not made solely because of modeling:

“I think it’s important to point out that it isn’t the model or the result of the model that really led to the decision to have such strong mitigation programs such as physical separation. You don’t even have to look at any model. Take a look at what happened in China. Take a look at what happened in northern Italy, how the hospitals were completely overrun and the draconian methods that had to be taken in China to return down their outbreak. So if I never saw a result of a model, that alone would clearly indicate that something rather significant needed to be done to prevent the spread.”

Minutes later, when MacCallum raised the issue again, Fauci reiterated, “The policy wasn’t made purely on the model. The policy was made on our understanding of what the virus was doing and could do.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.