Fauci Speaks on COVID Surge But Is Anybody Still Listening?

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, across both the Biden and Trump administrations, Dr. Anthony Fauci has been the face of the government's response. His predictions have been echoed on every news channel for nearly two years, and his policy advice has been generally accepted as final decree. But is anybody still listening? And are the words that have shaped mandates at federal and state levels beginning to lose their potency?

Fauci Fatigue?

As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Fauci immediately became the point-man for all things COVID-19. Frequent briefings at the White House and on national television boosted his public persona to that of near rock-star status, with social media users creating pop songs to lavish honor upon him. And yet it seems familiarity has bred a certain level of contempt.

During the early months of the pandemic, Fauci was seen as a steadying influence on President Donald Trump. But as each new recrimination and restriction came into play, and as 2020 became 2021, and now soon 2022, it seems that, to many Americans, the doctor has become a cross to bear and a roadblock back to normalcy.

Vaccine Mandates for Air Travel?

Prompting more Fauci fatigue is the doctor's habit of changing direction when politically expedient. Just days ago, he floated the idea of requiring vaccine certification for anyone who wanted to travel by air domestically. Not only was the backlash to his suggestion prevalent on Main Street, but Wall Street also took a hit with airline stocks dipping. And then, Fauci changed course. Speaking with CNN's Jim Acosta on Tuesday, Dec. 29, he argued, "No, what I said, Jim, was that everything that comes up as a possibility, we put it on the table and we consider it. That does not mean that it is going to be likely to happen."

No New Year Celebrations

Speaking on Monday, Dec. 27, on CNN's New Day program, Fauci offered his thoughts on dealing with the traditional New Year’s party circuit: Stay away. He said:

"I have been telling people consistently that if you're vaccinated and boosted, and you have a family setting, in the home with family and relatives [it is okay]. But when you're talking about a New Year's Eve party, we have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating. You do not know the status of their vaccination; I would recommend strongly stay away from that this year.

"There will be other years to do that, but not this year."

A significant number of Americans across various states did not get to see their families last year. With lockdowns, mandates, and spending every spare hour making ends meet as business after business went to the wall, families remained divided. Add thousands of travelers thwarted by airline cancellations this holiday season, and what we see is a burgeoning attitude of anger toward both Fauci and President Joe Biden.

A Focal Point

Fauci is the frontman for the administration in its actions against COVID-19. With each new variant, the NIAID director is brought out yet again to announce that this restriction is recommended and that mandate should be enforced. Just when the American public begins to feel a sense of normalcy, here comes Fauci to halt the process.

His popularity is not helped by often being at odds with other health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). More often than not, consensus has been reached eventually, yet early disagreements over asymptomatic spread, the need for masks, and the length of quarantine have all contributed to reputational damage for Fauci. Not to mention the emails that showed a level of dishonesty, as his public messaging differed from his private musings.

At the heart of the growing listlessness with Fauci is that many see him as acting politically rather than in the interest of public health. Rather than demonstrate or protest against him, the American people seem on the verge of consigning him to that most ignominious fate: ignoring him entirely.

~ Read more from Mark Angelides.