OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Sen. Ted Cruz took verbal aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday following the top White House medical adviser’s remarks regarding hospitalizations of children and COVID-19.
Specifically, the Texas Republican accused Fauci of editing his message for political purposes now that he is working with a Democratic administration.
“Cruz retweeted an interview Fauci had on MSNBC where he spoke about the troubling numbers of children in the hospital with the virus. Fauci made clear that there is a distinction between the number of children hospitalized with COVID as opposed to ‘because of COVID,'” Fox News reported.
“And what we mean by that: If a child goes into the hospital, they automatically get tested for COVID and they get counted as a COVID-hospitalized individual, when, in fact, they may go in for a broken leg or appendicitis or something like that. So it’s over counting the number of children who are, quote, hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID,” Fauci said.
“Now Fauci says this? Is this because pandemic politics have changed for the Biden admin?” Cruz wrote in his tweet.
Now Fauci says this?
Is this because pandemic politics have changed for the Biden admin? https://t.co/1IJKSHQ2gS
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 31, 2021
Fox News added:
Fauci’s comments came after a record surge of children in the U.S. being “hospitalized with COVID.” During the week of Dec. 22-28, an average of 378 children 17 and under were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirus, a 66% increase from the week before. The Associated Press reported that children continue to represent a small number of cases due to COVID-19.
Cruz’s tweet comes at a time that the Biden administration faces new criticism about its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Critics say Biden defeated former President Trump because he vowed to take control of the virus but he admitted this week that there is “no federal solution.”
“Look, there is no federal solution,” he said on a call to state governors earlier this week. “This gets solved at state level … and that ultimately gets down to where the rubber meets the road, and that’s where the patient is in need of help — or preventing the need for help.”
“My message to the governors is simple: if you need something, say something. We’re going to have your back in any way we can,” he continued.
As cases spike again around the country, it seems like forever ago when Biden promised the country that his administration would end the pandemic once and for all; now, he has presided over more COVID deaths than his predecessor.
“Strange how the media is almost totally silent about the fact that more than 400,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 since Joe Biden was sworn in January 20, with more than 1,000 deaths a day adding to the toll. As you’ll recall, there was a full-blown national day of mourning on January 19, Trump’s last full day in office, which was the day deaths hit 400,000,” the National Review reminded readers earlier this month.
“It’s not hard to imagine that there could be twice as many Covid deaths on Biden’s watch as on Trump’s. But what was Trump’s fault under Trump is America’s fault under Biden,” National Review continued.
The outlet noted further:
Remember all the pundits and Democrats proclaiming that Trump had “killed” 400,000 Americans? Will Chris Hayes and Kamala Harris blame Biden for “mass slaughter” now that he has presided over even more deaths? Or even the 200,000 since Biden’s “Mission Accomplished” speech? Failing that, will they at least acknowledge they were wrong to blame Trump for America’s suffering much the same fate as comparable nations? Will they at least say, “I’m sorry”?
And let’s not forget that Biden promised “to shut down the virus, not the country.”
But then, he said COVID vaccines wouldn’t be mandatory, either.
