Pennacchio: Fauci Not Worthy Of Honor, Applause

New Jersey State Senator Joe Pennacchio delivered the following statement on the Senate floor prior to a vote on a partisan resolution (ACR-195/SCR-134) honoring the life and work of Dr. Anthony Fauci:

“As a leader over the past 30 years in National Health, it was Dr. Fauci’s responsibility to prevent and prepare this nation for a potential pandemic.  Dr. Anthony Fauci may have contributed to this pandemic, but unfortunately in a negative way.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci has a history of flip flops, Senator Joe Pennacchio said, and he doesn’t deserve to be applauded. (Wikimedia Commons)

“On Feb. 17, 2020, Dr. Fauci said the risk of coronavirus in the U.S. was ‘miniscule’ and advised people to skip using masks. Asked about China locking down the Wuhan region, Dr. Fauci said ‘that’s something that I don’t possibly think we can do in the United States.’

“Three weeks later, Dr. Fauci called for a nationwide lock down.  He again came out against wearing masks in March of 2020.  In July, he had totally reversed his position. Now, Dr Fauci advocates wearing double masks.

“In an April 17 e-mail, Fauci said coronavirus mutations that led to COVID-19 are ‘totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human’ rather than a lab leak.

“Fauci acknowledged that a super virus could escape a lab and cause a pandemic, but that it is ‘worth the risk.’  To promote vaccines, he has arbitrarily moved the target for herd immunity from the vaccine from 70 percent to 90 percent.

“Dr. Fauci has a history of flip flops. He is careful to cover his scientific gluteus with verbs such as ‘could’ and ‘might.’ Speaking of AIDS in 1983, Dr. Fauci advocated a theory that AIDS could be promoted through close contact. He said, ‘If we add to this possibility that non-sexual, non-blood borne transmission is possible, the scope of the syndrome may be enormous,’ he said at the time. Two months later, realizing that such a statement was irresponsible, he called the claim ‘preposterous,’ never accepting or apologizing for its false proliferation.

“Dr. Fauci’s career may be long and may have some merit attached to it, however it seems to me he has been more devoted to the advancement of himself and political science than he was to the health sciences.  This man does not deserve to be applauded.”