Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Fox News Monday that there is “no real evidence” that lockdown measures reduce the transmission of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Paul said that lockdowns haven’t changed the “trajectory of the disease” despite all the measures imposed such as crowd control, hand-washing, standing six feet apart, and closing down restaurants and schools.
“It’s going up exponentially,” Paul said about the prevalence of COVID-19, “so those who say there is science [behind the lockdowns] just aren’t paying attention to it.”
As of Dec. 8, the United States has 14.8 million cases and 282,785 deaths, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tracker.
Over 50,000 scientists and medical practitioners worldwide have signed a petition against lockdown measures, saying they are causing “irreparable damage” and calling on schools and businesses to open.
The Great Barrington Declaration was co-authored in early October by prominent infectious disease epidemiologists, professor Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University, professor Sunetra Gupta from Oxford University, and professor Jay Bhattacharya at Stanford University Medical School.
The World Health Organization (WHO) claims lockdowns can slow COVID-19 transmission, however it also points out that these measures can have a “profound negative impact” on individuals, communities, and societies by bringing social and economic life to a near stop.
Paul stressed ending lockdowns is not about lacking compassion.
“I want people to get, you know, the vaccine, I want them to be able to avoid this scourge,” Paul said. “Even the socialist [Bill] de Blasio is now opening schools.”
“All I would say to government officials is let’s get the vaccine out as soon as we can.” Paul added.
Paul, who is also a physician, tested positive for COVID-19 on March 22, making him the first senator infected with the disease. He recovered about two weeks later.
In the interview, Paul suggested that governments shouldn’t mandate lockdowns, though they could provide advice.
“Once you mandate it, it doesn’t become advice. It becomes a form of tyranny,” Paul said. “Because sometimes the science isn’t clear. And sometimes they change their mind on the science month to month and week to week.”
Last week Paul wrote on Twitter that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, owes an apology to “every single parent and school-age child in America” over the lockdowns.
