Doctor sat for 14 hours of questioning this week.
Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted during a 14-hour session of answering questions that he recommended vaccine requirements in schools and acknowledged that such mandates could increase the likelihood of people opting out of vaccination, according to lawmakers.
Dr. Fauci, 83, headed the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022 and helped come up with some of the COVID-19 pandemic policies like mandates and lockdowns. He was questioned in private on Jan. 9 by the U.S. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in Washington.
While a transcript of the questioning has not yet been released, the panel said early Wednesday that Dr. Fauci told members he advised universities to force their students to get COVID-19 vaccines.
Dr. Fauci also “admitted that America’s vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic could increase vaccine hesitancy in the future,” the panel said in a summary of the second day of questioning.
He reportedly informed members that the infamous social distancing recommendations, which advised maintaining a six-foot distance in schools, businesses, and other places, were likely not based on data.
“It just sort of appeared,” Dr. Fauci was quoted as saying.
Dr. Fauci, who highlighted in a private email an op-ed critical of social distancing, did not respond to a request for comment sent to his employer, Georgetown University.
Many European nations, among other countries, had social distancing of three feet.
The subcommittee has said it will release a transcript of the questions and answers at some point in the future.
On the first day of questioning, Dr. Fauci repeatedly said he did not recall details when asked, Republicans said.
“Dr. Fauci’s transcribed interview revealed systemic failures in our public health system and shed light on serious procedural concerns with our public health authority,” Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the subcommittee, said in a statement. “It is clear that dissenting opinions were often not considered or suppressed completely, Should a future pandemic arise, America’s response must be guided by scientific facts and conclusive data.
