U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's "physical distancing" protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic lacked scientific evidence, a watchdog group charges.

Protect the Public Trust is calling for an investigation for "apparent violations of scientific integrity standards," the Washington Examiner reported.

"It stands to reason that the more drastic a measure taken, especially a measure involving children, the more ironclad the science supporting it should be," Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public's Trust, told the Washington Examiner. "But here is another instance of public health leaders recommending severe restrictions based on slapdash evidence, and the scars inflicted on these kids will affect them for decades."

In August 2021, Murthy said if children stayed 3-6 feet away from each other and were not in contact with someone who tested positive for more than 15 minutes, they did not need to quarantine, according to the Examiner.

Protect the Public Trust obtained a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report titled "Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Prevention," which it said appears to be the "sole basis" for claiming distancing could work. The letter said the report has five sources, none of which reach that conclusion, the Examiner reported.

Sources cited in the report did not support social distancing and others said it was not a preventive method, the Examiner said.

"When they came into office, the Biden administration promised to 'follow the science' in decision-making," Chamberlain said.

"Now it seems we have another powerful member of that administration failing to live up to that promise. More and more, it appears that the precipitous decline in trust in our public health officials during these years has been well earned."

The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

• Surgeon General Warns of Social Media Dangers for Youth
• Surgeon General: Loneliness as Deadly as Smoking