Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Newsmax TV that his issue with Dr. Anthony Fauci's testimony is that "we can't wait for perfection" to reopen the economy from coronavirus-related closures, and the decision to start returning to normal should be based on science.
During an appearance on "Greg Kelly Reports" Tuesday night, Paul — who grilled Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key White House adviser during the current pandemic, during a Senate hearing about reopening schools in the fall — said decisions need to include everyone from all sides of the issue.
"We should take with a grain of salt these people. They're not omniscient. That doesn't mean Dr. Fauci's a bad person; I actually think he's a knowledgeable intellectual, someone who's trying their best. He's a very, very cautious person," Paul said.
"When he said that we're not gonna have any school, or implied that we shouldn't open schools, my response was a factual one. Should we look and see what the mortality rate is among schoolchildren? It turns out from age zero to 18, it approaches zero. It literally is close to zero.
"If he is a scientist, it should be based on science."
What is needed, Paul said, is a frank discussion about where the U.S. should go from here. With many areas of the country having relatively few virus cases and deaths, a blanket policy of shuttering schools and economies is not the solution.
"The future is difficult and we shouldn't assume that one guy with a Ph.D. or an M.D. knows everything about the future," he said.
"Every school was closed and not one kid was sick in Kentucky. Is that an overreach? I don't know," Paul added. "We have 600,000 people out of work in Kentucky now. We've got devastating numbers where we're gonna bankrupt the state again on unemployment, even though we've given $3 trillion out.
"There's not enough money in China, there's not enough money to be printed at the Federal Reserve. We've gotta open the economy and we have to be reasonable about this. We can't wait for perfection. That's my gripe with Dr. Fauci. Not that he's a disingenuous person or he doesn't have the right motives. I think he does. I think he wants what's best for the country. But so do I, and we have to have a debate over whether we keep the economy closed. I don't think it can go on forever."
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