He added, ludicrously: “That’s dangerous. ... I’m not going to be around here forever, but science is going to be here forever. And if you damage science, you are doing something very detrimental to society long after I leave.”
Let me get this straight. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticizing Fauci’s agency for giving grants to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to conduct dangerous gain-of-function research on bat viruses—and criticizing him personally for obfuscating about that while testifying before a Senate committee—is equivalent to attacking science itself?
Or that those—like me—who have complained that Fauci seems to like his newfound celebrity far too much to be an effective face for fighting the pandemic, and others pointing out his distinct partisanship—a criticism to which he responded on “Face the Nation” by bringing up the Capitol incident of Jan. 6, thereby proving the point—damages science? Give. Me. A. Break.
Fauci wasn’t the only major U.S. public health leader recently to act as if disagreement is synonymous with “anti-science.”
There’s no question we’re experiencing a crisis of confidence in our public health, science, and medical sectors. But this predicament didn’t arise in a vacuum. Nor is it due to malefactors deceiving the public. Criticisms of Fauci, Collins, and the World Health Organization (WHO) are the effect—not the cause—of the crisis.
More to the point of the public’s response to the pandemic, there are fewer settled “truths” about the coronavirus than our leaders would have us believe. For example, what protection against reinfection does natural immunity provide, and how does a previously recovered case of COVID-19 affect the question of whether to be vaccinated?
That’s certainly encouraging and distinctly relevant to the question of whether across-the-board vaccine mandates are justified. But I couldn’t help but note the deafening silence among our public health leaders to this seemingly important report. Why, it’s almost as if that study doesn’t exist. Did they think we wouldn’t find out? Or do they just want us to meekly obey?
It’s also important to remember that the pandemic is not yet two years with us and has proved a frustratingly moving target. Witness the international panic just sparked by the emergence of the new variant Omicron.
So, which is it? Nobody can say with certainty yet because the variant has been insufficiently studied. And even when more is known, the same data may be interpreted in different ways by scientists and doctors of goodwill and debated with intellectual vigor.
That’s not a problem. On the contrary, that’s precisely how the scientific method is supposed to work. That’s because “science,” properly understood, isn’t a creed—as some in the political establishment and media seem to think. Rather, it’s a powerful method for gaining and applying knowledge about the workings of the physical universe.
Its tools are observation, careful measurement, testing, and the like. The “method” also includes skepticism and robust debate—even about seemingly settled issues. Indeed, attempting to silence criticism of a supposedly settled “scientific consensus” interferes with the proper practice of science, which requires the freedom to express heterodox hypotheses and challenge reigning orthodoxies without fear of career retribution or “canceling” by the powers that be.
That’s why Fauci’s claim that criticisms of him are the same thing as attacking “science” is so ridiculous. His purpose isn’t to further scientific accuracy but to stifle discourse, suppress dissent, protect orthodoxy, and burnish his own reputation. Ironically, if anything is “anti-science,” that is.
