Chicago City Wire

Chicago’s Morning Answer hosts Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson brought on Noah Rothman of Commentary Magazine to figure out the logic behind what they call Dr. Anthony Fauci’s inconsistent messages about the pandemic.

Before Rothman went on air, Proft played a recording of Fauci explaining herd immunity.

Fauci said that the vaccine protects people from getting infected and even if there are those who contract the disease they might not transmit it.

His statement  contradicts his statement in the New York Times about the percentage needed to vaccinate in order to reach herd immunity. 

He first said that 60 to 70 percent of the nation should get vaccinated to reach herd immunity but the real number is 75 to 90 percent. 

Proft tried explaining Fauci’s logic in his own words and his interpretation of the doctor’s message was that some people won’t get sick, some people won’t get infected and in the rare cases some people do get infected they might not even transmit the disease.

Proft expressed his frustration on Fauci’s convoluted message and he said that based on his understanding of Fauci’s message it seems that the danger of COVID-19 is not as grave as many have claimed.

The hosts then welcomed Rothman on air and asked him to explain the logic behind Fauci’s messages.

Rothman said that Fauci definitely lied about some details of the coronavirus. But he defended the doctor and said that Fauci’s reason for doing so could be that he doesn’t trust the public to manage the truth behind COVID-19’s destructive capacity.

Rothman said that Fauci tried to inflate the percentage needed for herd immunity in order to manipulate the public into taking the pandemic more seriously. Rothman said that Fauci lied for the greater good of the public but he also said that as a public health official he should have told the truth even if it would incite anger from the public.

Rothman said, “You have to be honest to the public and truthful to yourself as a public health official even if those [un]inconvenient truths are regarded with hostility by the public.”