Quick Hit:

Dr. Francis Collins, the former NIH Director, testified Wednesday that the widely-promoted social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic lacked any scientific basis.

Key Details:

• Dr. Francis Collins admitted that the “6 feet apart” social distancing recommendation was not grounded in scientific evidence.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci echoed this sentiment, revealing further systemic failures in America’s public health response during his testimony.
• The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic continues to uncover critical failings in pandemic-era policies.

Diving Deeper:

In testimony before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Dr. Francis Collins, the former Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), admitted that the federal guideline to maintain six feet of social distancing was not based on any science or data. This admission casts doubt on one of the most widely promoted measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Dr. Collins agreed with Dr. Fauci that the ‘6 feet apart’ social distancing recommendation promoted by federal health officials was likely not based on any science or data,” noted Select Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio). Collins, who led the NIH’s pandemic response, acknowledged that the recommendation lacked empirical support.

The testimony also highlighted Collins' stance on the Great Barrington Declaration, a publication advocating for focused protection of vulnerable populations while allowing minimal restrictions for the young and healthy. Collins reaffirmed his previous criticisms, referencing a 2020 email to Dr. Fauci in which he called for a “quick and devastating published takedown” of the declaration.

Further, Collins engaged in semantic arguments over the definition of gain-of-function research, attempting to obscure the NIH’s involvement in funding such research in Wuhan, China. This approach mirrored Dr. Fauci’s defense in prior Congressional testimonies where he denied NIH’s funding of potentially dangerous research.

Additionally, Collins confirmed his participation in the infamous February 1, 2020, conference call that led to the “Proximal Origin” publication, which sought to discredit the lab-leak hypothesis. This directly contradicts Dr. Fauci’s previous statements and raises questions about the government's role in suppressing the lab-leak theory.

In separate 14-hour transcribed testimony with the Select Subcommittee, Dr. Fauci further exposed systemic failures within America’s public health systems. Fauci claimed he “did not recall” key COVID-19 information over 100 times and admitted that the social distancing guidance “sort of just appeared.” He also defended his testimony regarding NIH’s funding of gain-of-function research in Wuhan, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.

“Dr. Fauci’s testimony today uncovered drastic and systemic failures in America’s public health systems,” said Wenstrup. “While leading the nation’s COVID-19 response and influencing public narratives, he simultaneously had no idea what was happening under his own jurisdiction at NIAID.”

Fauci’s testimony also acknowledged that the COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis is not a conspiracy theory, contrasting his earlier stance that influenced the “Proximal Origin” publication. Additionally, he conceded that the stringent vaccine mandates during the pandemic could lead to increased vaccine hesitancy in the future.