Fauci to Paul: 'You Do Not Know What You're Talking About'

Both accuse the other of lying in Senate hearing
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 20, 2021 2:10 PM CDT
Fauci to Paul: 'You Do Not Know What You're Talking About'
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appears Tuesday on Capitol Hill with Dr. Anthony Fauci.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

A recurring clash between the government's top infectious disease doctor and a senator has erupted again on Capitol Hill, with each accusing the other of lying. Dr. Anthony Fauci angrily confronted Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday. Fauci rejected Paul's insinuation that the US helped fund research at a Chinese lab that could have sparked the COVID-19 outbreak, the AP reports. Fauci spoke to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, saying a study the senator mentioned referenced a different sort of virus entirely from the one responsible for the coronavirus outbreak. "Senator Paul, you do not know what you're talking about, quite frankly," Fauci said. "And I want to say that officially. You do not know what you're talking about." He added, "If anybody is lying here, senator, it is you."

Also Tuesday, Fauci suggested parents follow new COVID-19 guidance for mask-wearing issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The academy is recommending schools require face masks for children older than 2 and all adults—regardless of vaccination status. Fauci told CBS This Morning the academy wants to "go the extra mile" to make sure children are protected at school because of the rise in cases blamed on the delta variant of the coronavirus. That guidance is slightly different from that of the CDC, which has advised mask-wearing in schools just for unvaccinated children and adults. Fauci said the CDC is "carefully looking" at its COVID-19 school guidance.

(More Anthony Fauci stories.)

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