Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious diseases expert, said the lack of a federal standardized coronavirus response across states is a “major weakness” in the handling of the pandemic that continues to surge across the nation.
“The states are very often given a considerable amount of leeway in doing things the way they want to do it, as opposed to in response to federal mandates, which are, relatively, rarely given,” Fauci said in an interview with BBC Radio 4, according to CNN.
Fauci said the virus “doesn’t know the difference between the border of New York and New Jersey, or Florida and Georgia,” and blamed what he called a lack of consistency for the toll the virus has taken on the U.S. in particular.
“What we’ve had was a considerable disparity with states doing things differently in a nonconsistent way,” Fauci said. “There have been a lot of factors that have led to the fact that, unfortunately for us, the United States has been the hardest-hit country in the world, but I believe that disparity among how states do things has been a major weakness in our response.”
The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases also blamed political polarization in the U.S. for some of the pitfalls of the virus response.
“What we see is somewhat of a politicization, where … things like the wearing of masks become a political statement, where … keeping away from crowds becomes a political statement, that has made it very problematic as we’ve dealt with this unprecedented and historic outbreak,” he said.
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Fauci: Differing state responses a "major weakness" in fighting coronavirus https://t.co/7gErfn1XNp pic.twitter.com/Lxw6ofmjY3
— The Hill (@thehill) December 28, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci: "We very well might see a post-seasonal — in the sense Christmas/New Year's — surge and, as I've described it, as a 'surge upon a surge.'" pic.twitter.com/4qct9Y8ofY
— The Hill (@thehill) December 28, 2020
A uniform response by the states would have been great, but more important is the total lack of cooperation in adhering to the CDC recommendations by the selfish. If people would wear masks, social distance, stay home, etc., we would have reduced the number of cases and resultant deaths by now. A state can order some things like masks, but if people won’t cooperate, all the rules and regulations in the world won’t change things.
In PA, bars, restaurants and other businesses are shut down (except for takeout, delivery, curbside pickup, etc.). Yet, state and local governments have looked the other way as to other gatherings. Here, daily case numbers and deaths began to rise after Trump and his allies were all over Pennsylvania holding rallies in the last two weeks of the campaign. Thanksgiving and Christmas people are gathering in homes and at parties. Then there is holiday travel — millions on the road, on trains, buses and airplanes. Where is enforcement? Why aren’t rallies and gatherings shut down? Why isn’t travel curbed?
Vaccines will help, but they will take some time to work. In the meantime, there have to be drastic measures taken. Let the Trump crowd whine about their “rights.” We need leadership at the national, state and local level to enforce compliance and get people to do what is right.
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