Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Newsmax Thursday that Dr. Anthony Fauci continues to deny fundamental immunology by hawking the COVID-19 vaccine as an added boost to protect from the coronavirus.
Paul, who on Wednesday during a Senate hearing on monkeypox played a CNBC clip from 2004 of Fauci saying someone who was infected with the flu did not need the flu shot, said he wanted to "reintroduce Dr. Fauci to himself and the hypocrisy" surrounding the vaccine and immunity.
"He said clearly if you've had the flu, you have immunity, that having had the flu is equal to or probably exceeds vaccination because it's the best vaccination ever," Paul said Thursday during an appearance on Newsmax's "National Report."
"He didn't say, Oh, but I am only referring to people who have said they had a reaction. No, it's basic immunology. What he stated is what happens in an immune reaction when you get a disease.
"When you get a virus or a bacterial illness, you get an immune response, and you develop immunity. Maybe not perfect immunity, but you do get immunity each time, and he was very clear that when you get the flu you develop immunity, and you don't need to get vaccinated," Paul added.
"See, that was uncontroversial. That was the common sense of medicine and has been since we understood the immune response for over 100 years. So, what's unusual is him denying it now."
Fauci said Paul was taking the clip out of context and produced a Reuters fact check that said his comments on the flu in 2004 did not contradict his COVID-19 pandemic stance.
"When the left-wing public figure says a fact checker from a left-wing newspaper agrees with him, that's not much of a defense," Paul said.
"I think his response was weak, it was tepid. And in the end, there are things we need to know.
"People don't know because the CDC won't reveal what it means to be infected. If you've had COVID and two vaccines, is that enough? Do you still need seven vaccines if you've had two vaccines and you've been infected? If you're a kid — 80% of our kids have been infected — do they really need a vaccine? What kind of guideline do you give a child who's already been infected?"
Paul said the CDC and Fauci are "refusing to acknowledge basic immunology in the guidelines they give to parents for getting their kids vaccinated.
"One reason we wanted to play this clip from 2004 and reintroduce Dr. Fauci to himself is the hypocrisy, the inconsistency, but also because no mainstream or left-wing media, which is a lot of the media, has shown this video.
"Our hope was to broaden the understanding of we do need to need to know — it's really important whether you've had an infection or not, and it has to be a variable, and it will help you better understand how many vaccines you need to take, or if you need to be vaccinated."
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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