[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by ithos

First of all, the recommendations did not EVOLVE.. It changed almost overnight. I am sure it was a coincidence but the policy u-turn occurred about the same time the extreme lockdowns were implemented.

Here is Fauci's job descriptions:

Dr. Fauci was appointed Director of NIAID in 1984. He oversees an extensive research portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat established infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, etc.

Since pandemics from viruses have occurred through out recorded history, why is it that in 2020 the highest paid US government employee with a tenure of almost 40 years did not have a clue about the effectiveness of cloth masks? Have we not been using masks in the medical field for decades?

I am not anti mask on a limited basis but the flip flop on policy was not based primarily on "Science" unless you are talking about political science.

And for the Fauci faithful out there, which prior health crisis out there has he done a superb job on?

How long does evolution of knowledge take with the appearance of a new virus? As more was learned about how the virus was spread and how fast it was spreading the recommendations changed. "Almost overnight" is a pretty good timespan if it means saving thousands of lives. And you are wrong, it was not just a coincidence that the mask policy changed at the same time as the restrictions since both actions were in response to new awareness of the threat.

I don't see the flip flop on masks. Another post included an email pointing out that masks, particularly those available through the drug store, have little effectiveness in protecting the wearer. Nothing has flip flopped, masks are still most effective at source control - this is how masks have been used for over 40 years. While some masks can protect the user they are not the masks that were available in the drug store back at that time.