Dr. Fauci "Acknowledges" Lab Leak Theory And School Closure Controversy In Congressional Testimony

He also maintained his stance that school closures, which his agency supported, did not necessarily harm children's education.

The Daily Mail reported that during his second day of questioning by Congress, Dr. Fauci stated that the idea of the COVID-19 virus being engineered and subsequently escaping from a Wuhan lab was not a conspiracy theory. "The lab leak hypothesis — which was often suppressed — was, in fact, not a conspiracy theory," Ohio Representative Brad Wenstrup commented on Dr. Fauci's testimony.

January 11, 2024

Dr. Fauci, 83, appeared before the House coronavirus subcommittee for a second seven-hour session of questioning on Wednesday. He discussed the US government's response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the various challenges it faced.

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He also stated that there was no scientific data supporting the guideline to maintain a six-foot distance from others. He suggested that the vaccine mandates he had previously supported might have deterred some people from getting vaccinated. "The six-feet-apart rule was not inspired by scientific data, and it just sort of appeared," Dr. Fauci was quoted as saying by the outlet.

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Despite reversing his stance on several issues, Dr. Fauci remained steadfast in his belief that school closures did not necessarily disrupt the education of American children. "He says he’s still not convinced that there was learning loss — that in his view, that’s still really open for discussion,” Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX), a member of the closed-door panel, told the New York Post.

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Rep. Cloud disagreed with Dr. Fauci's stance, stating, "I think [if] you ask any parent, they’ll tell you it was a major hit on their child’s development.”

Dr. Fauci has previously denied advocating for school closures, telling the New York Times Magazine in April 2023, “Show me a school that I shut down and show me a factory that I shut down. Never. I never did.” However, video footage of his remarks suggests otherwise.

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Rep. Cloud criticized Dr. Fauci for his apparent lack of responsibility, stating, "They wash their hands of any sort of responsibility, saying, ‘Oh, those decisions were made by school districts.’ But the school districts know, if you don’t follow the guidance that’s coming out of the federal government, you open yourselves up to lawsuits.”

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Data from the US Department of Education released in September 2022 revealed a significant drop in reading ability among nine-year-olds during the Covid-19 lockdowns, reaching a 30-year low. Math scores also saw a decline for the first time in half a century.

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Dr. Fauci's tenure as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was marked by several controversies. A 2018 study published by a campaign group in October revealed that Dr. Fauci's NIH had conducted experiments with coronaviruses and bats over a year before the global outbreak of Covid-19 at the agency's Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana.