From a Wall Street Journal report:
By
James Freeman Follow
Jan. 10, 2022 2:43 pm ET
Amid a mounting pile of unfulfilled Biden promises on Covid, from his pledge to shut down the virus to his assurance of abundant testing, the president’s favorite experts are suddenly sharing relevant facts that were too inconvenient to emphasize during his predecessor’s administration. Last week this column noted that two years, $4 trillion of federal debt and millions of isolated children too late, White House Covid czar Dr. Anthony Fauci has discovered the massive costs of pandemic restrictions. Now we have Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, implicitly making the case for a strategy she once disparaged.
On Friday, ABC’s “Good Morning America” program touted research showing that Covid vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe illness and then asked the CDC director: “Given that, is it time to start rethinking how we’re living with this virus, that it’s probably here to stay?” Dr. Walensky responded:
Sure, it may be hard to forget her unscientific March 2021 declaration at a White House briefing:
Then there was her decision that the threat could somehow be addressed by issuing an unconstitutional ban on evictions. But if Dr. Walensky has since gotten a hold of herself and is now trying to enhance understanding of the threats people face, that would be progress.
Her CDC website notes that close to 95% of death certificates listing Covid as a cause also mention other causes along with Covid and states:
On Sunday Dr. Walensky tweeted:
Yet back in 2020, when President Trump found the idea appealing Dr. Walensky joined the politically correct establishment in dismissing the Great Barrington doctors and researchers as operating on the academic fringe.
Whether she ever retracts her 2020 comments or not, Dr. Walensky should now act on her new insight, focus on protecting the vulnerable, and stop demanding ideal conditions and masks in schools, where children are not at great risk.
***
A number of online commenters responded to last Monday’s column by claiming that it was unfair to criticize Dr. Fauci’s disastrous lockdown medicine with the benefit of hindsight. But this column was a lockdown skeptic from the very start of the pandemic, warning as early as March 10, 2020, that any proposed virus countermeasures should be subject to analysis of costs and benefits. The refusal of officials like Dr. Fauci to consider the staggering costs and questionable benefits of their prescriptions will haunt today’s children for the rest of their lives.
Now She Tells Us
CDC director Rochelle Walensky suddenly emphasizes relative risks.
By
James Freeman Follow
Jan. 10, 2022 2:43 pm ET
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee on Capitol Hill in November.
Amid a mounting pile of unfulfilled Biden promises on Covid, from his pledge to shut down the virus to his assurance of abundant testing, the president’s favorite experts are suddenly sharing relevant facts that were too inconvenient to emphasize during his predecessor’s administration. Last week this column noted that two years, $4 trillion of federal debt and millions of isolated children too late, White House Covid czar Dr. Anthony Fauci has discovered the massive costs of pandemic restrictions. Now we have Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, implicitly making the case for a strategy she once disparaged.
On Friday, ABC’s “Good Morning America” program touted research showing that Covid vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe illness and then asked the CDC director: “Given that, is it time to start rethinking how we’re living with this virus, that it’s probably here to stay?” Dr. Walensky responded:
Dr. Walensky seems to have been trying to make the point that the vast majority of people do not face as great a risk as one would think from listening to Covid-era apocalyptic forecasts from people like her.
Sure, it may be hard to forget her unscientific March 2021 declaration at a White House briefing:
Then there was her decision that the threat could somehow be addressed by issuing an unconstitutional ban on evictions. But if Dr. Walensky has since gotten a hold of herself and is now trying to enhance understanding of the threats people face, that would be progress.
Her CDC website notes that close to 95% of death certificates listing Covid as a cause also mention other causes along with Covid and states:
Unfortunately, in her Friday ABC interview, Dr. Walensky’s phrasing of the “encouraging news” about modest risk for many Americans sparked an online backlash as some interpreted the remarks as callous toward those at high risk. Kamau Bell of HBO and CNN tweeted, “I counted up my comorbidities. Now I can let my family know that if I die from COVID it is ‘encouraging.’ ”
On Sunday Dr. Walensky tweeted:
Fair enough, but this recognition that some face great risk from Covid while others face much lower risk has been obvious from the start. In response, a group of accomplished and wise scientists crafted the Great Barrington Declaration in 2020 to promote a ”focused protection” strategy—taking great care to shield those at high risk while allowing the vast majority who are at low risk to continue working, learning and doing all the things that sustain life. This sensible prioritization sounds very much like what Dr. Walensky is suggesting in her Sunday tweet.
Yet back in 2020, when President Trump found the idea appealing Dr. Walensky joined the politically correct establishment in dismissing the Great Barrington doctors and researchers as operating on the academic fringe.
Whether she ever retracts her 2020 comments or not, Dr. Walensky should now act on her new insight, focus on protecting the vulnerable, and stop demanding ideal conditions and masks in schools, where children are not at great risk.
***
A number of online commenters responded to last Monday’s column by claiming that it was unfair to criticize Dr. Fauci’s disastrous lockdown medicine with the benefit of hindsight. But this column was a lockdown skeptic from the very start of the pandemic, warning as early as March 10, 2020, that any proposed virus countermeasures should be subject to analysis of costs and benefits. The refusal of officials like Dr. Fauci to consider the staggering costs and questionable benefits of their prescriptions will haunt today’s children for the rest of their lives.
