Fauci responds to Trump tweet

[Ms. Toad]

41. He's said it multiple times

Here's one source. https://www.thestreet.com/video/dr-fauci-masks-changing-directive-coronavirus

"Masks are not 100% protective. However, they certainly are better than not wearing a mask. Both to prevent you, if you happen to be a person who may feel well, but has an asymptomatic infection that you don't even know about, to prevent you from infecting someone else," said Fauci. "But also, it can protect you a certain degree, not a hundred percent, in protecting you from getting infected from someone who, either is breathing, or coughing, or sneezing, or singing or whatever it is in which the droplets or the aerosols go out. So masks work."

So, why weren't we told to wear masks in the beginning?

"Well, the reason for that is that we were concerned the public health community, and many people were saying this, were concerned that it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply. And we wanted to make sure that the people namely, the health care workers, who were brave enough to put themselves in a harm way, to take care of people who you know were infected with the coronavirus and the danger of them getting infected."

In other words, we told you it was to make sure that there were masks for health care workers - not because masks weren't helpful -and might be harmful - as he had previously said.

He's said this in multiple interviews, some clearer - soe less clear than this. But the gist of it in every interview is we told you a white lie in order to make sure you didn't run out and buy masks that healthcare workers needed.

And, as I previously noted - I had done enough independent research by mid-March to know it was a lie. Although the evidence supporting for mask wearing is stronger now, it existed at the time Fauci (and others) were making the statements to protect the equipment supply - not our health.