Francis Collins Has Regrets, but Too Few

The former NIH chief and promoter of Covid lockdowns now says his view was too ‘narrow.’

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"“If you’re a public-health person and you’re trying to make a decision, you have this very narrow view of what the right decision is, and that is something that will save a life,” Dr. Collins explained in a Covid discussion this summer for Braver Angels, an outfit that aims to bridge political divides. A video of the discussion surfaced this week on X.com.

Dr. Collins continued: “So you attach infinite value to stopping the disease and saving a life. You attach a zero value to whether this actually totally disrupts people’s lives, ruins the economy, and has many kids kept out of school in a way that they never quite recovered.” This, he explained, “is a public-health mindset,” which was “another mistake we made.”"

"He acknowledged in the Covid discussion that the declaration “could have been a great opportunity for a broad scientific discussion about the pros and cons” of focused protection. But then he blames the declaration’s authors for “short-circuiting” debate by trying to change national policy without first consulting public-health officials. Who really shut down that debate?

Soon after the declaration was published online, Dr. Collins emailed Dr. Fauci calling for a “quick and devastating published take down of its premise.” Within a few days, myriad public-health associations attacked the declaration. Dr. Collins said during the Covid panel that he regretted using the words “take down,” but not calling the declaration “dangerous.”"