During a House subcommittee that heard about the federal government’s response to the pandemic, Jordan, an Ohio conservative, asked Fauci when the nation can start relaxing physical distance measures and wearing masks – and put it as a ask when Americans their liberties and freedoms.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, began to reply that the time will be when the United States gets more Americans vaccinated and has a level of coronavirus infection low enough that it is “no longer a threat.”
Jordan then interrupted Fauci to ask for a specific number.
“We had 15 days of ‘slow the spread’ turning into a year of lost freedom,” Jordan said. “What statistics, what measures, what must happen before Americans get more freedoms back?”
‘You indicate freedom and freedom. I see it as a public health measure to prevent people from dying and going to hospital, ”Fauci countered. “That will certainly end if we get the infection level very low. It is now at such a high level that large peaks are looming again.”
Fauci later said to Jordan, “You’re making this something personal and it’s not.”
“It’s not a personal thing,” Jordan fired back.
“No, you are,” Fauci said irritably. “That’s exactly what you do.”
Fauci defended his recommendations as consistent and based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Covid-19 guidelines.
“Right now we have about 60,000 infections a day, which is a very high risk of revival. We’re not talking about freedoms. We’re talking about a pandemic that killed 560,000 Americans,” said Fauci, who later said his. “best estimate” would be that the number of infections per day is “well below” 10,000 per day.
When Jordan tried to keep questioning Fauci, Democratic Representative Maxine Waters from across the room intervened.
“You have to respect the chair and shut up,” she told Jordan.
Later at the hearing, when Jordan Fauci asked the same questions and lamented whether Americans would wear masks in two years’ time, Fauci told the congressman he was “going on a rampage.”
Thursday’s hearing was to examine the Biden administration’s progress on vaccines with CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and the Chief Science Officer of the Covid-19 reaction, Dr. David Kessler, also as witnesses.