Fauci Offers Hope, Says It’s a ‘Quite Reasonable Projection’ Large Gatherings Could Happen by Fourth of July | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Ashe Schow.

    Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, finally offered a little bit of hope after a year of pessimistic predictions, saying it was "a quite reasonable projection" to suggest we could have larger gatherings for the Fourth of July.

    Fauci made the remarks on "Morning Joe" Tuesday, answering a question from co-host Willie Geist about whether people might be able to celebrate the Fourth of July with larger gatherings this year — if enough people were vaccinated and if case numbers drop.

    "You know, that's — that's entirely conceivable and possible," Fauci responded.

    Biden last week made a similar statement while addressing the American people, The Daily Wire reported, though he limited his remarks to smaller gatherings.

    "If we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4, there's a good chance you, your families, and friends, will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day. That doesn't mean large events with lots of people together, but it does mean small groups will be able to get together," Biden said.

    "After this long, hard year, that will make this Independence Day something truly special, where we not only mark our independence as a nation, but we begin to mark our independence from this virus," he added. "But to get there, we can't let our guard down. This fight is far from over, as I told the woman in Pennsylvania, I'll tell you the truth. On July 4, with your loved ones, is the goal. But a goal, a lot can happen."

    The idea that the coronavirus pandemic will disappear if everyone did what the government told them is a fantasy, and suggests that even after locking the country down, forcing people to wear facemasks almost everywhere they go and not see their friends or loved ones, we still simply aren't doing enough to combat the virus.

    As Phil Klein wrote at National Review, continuing to interview Fauci doesn't have the same effect that those interviews had last year:

• Watching interviews with Anthony Fauci has become a cringeworthy experience. Journalists ask him questions on returning to normal as if he were some sort of grand high exalted mystic ruler who controls every aspect of human existence. On Sunday, Fauci told NBC that he couldn't predict when people would be able to have indoor weddings.
• What makes this increasingly obnoxious is not just the arbitrariness of Fauci's pronouncements (he recently conceded that guidance on travel for fully vaccinated people was a "judgment call" by the CDC), but the deference that he and other health officials are granted by the media. Last week, when the CDC released new guidance on those who had been fully immunized, CNN infamously tweeted, "The CDC releases guidelines giving limited freedoms to people fully vaccinated against Covid-19."

    Klein added that the American people, not Fauci, will "lead the way in returning life to normal."