Anthony Fauci Fires Back Against Criticisms; Republican Lawmakers Call For Chief Medical Advisor’s Prosecution

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WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 04: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 04, 2021 in Washington, DC.

The top infectious disease expert in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, fired back on Sunday against comments from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's to have the expert prosecuted.

During an interview, Fauci said that any person who chose to look at the situation very carefully will realize that there was a distinct anti-science agenda. The medical expert said that if lawmakers decided to criticize science, no person would be able to understand what they were talking about. But since they were criticizing him, Republican lawmakers allowed people to realize there was an actual person there.

Prosecution of Fauci

Fauci said in May that the National Institutes of Health had not funded "gain of function" research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. The type of research was made in an attempt to potentially cause pathogens to become more infectious. In October, Cruz posted a Twitter post accusing Fauci of lying and said he asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the top infectious disease expert, Politico reported.

In his statements, Fauci questioned Cruz's calls for him to be prosecuted and asked what happened on Jan. 6. The date marked an unprecedented moment in the history of the United States where the Capitol Hill building was stormed by a large group of supporters of former United States President Donald Trump.

Fauci's statements were a reference to how Cruz stoked Trump supporters by leading GOP objections to Congress' certifying the 2020 presidential elections where Trump lost against Democrat Joe Biden. In a statement, Fauci said that he was simply doing his job and was trying to save lives and accused critics of lying.

In recent months, accusations from several Republicans, including Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul, argued that Fauci lied to Congress. The two officials said that an October letter from NIH to Congress contradicted the infectious disease expert's statements, US News reported.

New Coronavirus Variant

The situation comes amid the discovery of a new coronavirus variant called the Omicron variant that was first found in South Africa. Fauci argued that Americans should be prepared to do "anything and everything" to fight back against the new threat.

During an interview, Fauci said that it was still "too early to say" whether or not lockdowns or new mandates will be appropriate to fight against the new variant. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the Omicron variant as a "variant of concern," sending world governments into a frenzy.

International leaders have immediately banned travel from South Africa and several other African countries in fears of allowing the Omicron variant to enter the region. The new variant is believed to be highly contagious and is extremely resistant to the current coronavirus vaccines available.

The new variant has already been recorded in the UK, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Hong Kong. Fauci said, however, that it was inevitable that the Omicron variant will get to the United States and that the only thing that is questionable at the moment is the government and the people's preparedness in handling the virus, CNBC reported.