Dr. Fauci and the ‘Sort of Just Appeared’ Defense

The phrase is the complete opposite of taking responsibility for Covid policies

Letter to The WSJ. 

"Dr. Anthony Fauci’s closed-door testimony reveals the lack of hard evidence behind his arbitrary policies and practices during the pandemic (“Anthony Fauci Fesses Up,” Review & Outlook, Jan. 12). It is a striking example of the sluggish and phlegmatic bureaucracies at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

These institutions could have assembled rapid pilot or large research projects to test the underlying premises of mask mandates, 6-foot social distancing, school closings, and the safety of indoor and outdoor assemblies and public transportation. Instead, policies were borrowed from prevailing wisdom and precedent or were created without hard evidence. These government agencies need rapid-response mechanisms to assemble research teams when confronted with unprecedented, emerging public-health disasters.

Prof. Bertha K Madras

Harvard Medical School

Belmont, Mass."