Dot Plots

Sam Gerard: Cosmo, this guy's dirty.
Cosmo Renfro: Yeah he is, Sam.
--The Fugitive

If you're connecting dots to picture what has truly gone on over the past year and a half, then it seems likely that an image of Dr Anthony Fauci will appear in the middle of it. A public health sector bureaucrat for more than 50 yrs, Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He has been the chief mouthpiece of CV19 public health measures since the pandemic began.

It did not take long for Fauci to blow his credibility with anyone with reasoning capacity. His stance on several matters (e.g., travel policy, masking) flip flopped. He promoted policies grounded in dogma rather than in science. He failed to advocate for projects to obtain better understanding of the situation (e.g., seroprevalence studies, randomized trials evaluating effectiveness of various PPE). He ignored data that contradicted his viewpoints.  

Because Fauci has been an active member of the Democratic Party who strongly supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, it is easy to construe his actions as politically motivated. Indeed, failing to remove Fauci from his position of influence may have been Donald Trump's most glaring error.

Evidence is emerging that Fauci received information about the potential origin of the virus in a Wuhan lab. He also knew that the research was funded in part by US tax dollars. In both cases his subsequent actions suggest coverups. Yesterday he failed to appear before a House panel hearing to answer questions about these matters.

Undoubtedly, Fauci is seeking political cover while it is still available for him. But it will be hard to hide from what the dots plot.