Johns Hopkins professor hits out at Dr. Fauci for denying the US is approaching herd immunity and says 'it's not healthy for a small group of people' to be making decisions for Americans
A Johns Hopkins professor has slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci for denying that the United States is approaching herd immunity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Marty Makary, who is also a Fox News contributor, told Brian Kilmeade on Thursday that 'it's not healthy for a small group of people' to be making all the health decisions for Americans.
'I don't think it's healthy for a small group of people to be making all the public health recommendations. It's good to have multiple voices,' Makary said.
He claims that the low rate of reinfections and high percentages of people showing antibodies indicate that the United States is approaching herd immunity through both vaccinations and natural immunity, which he claims Fauci has ignored.
There have been more than 133 million vaccines administered in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, there have been 30,076,486 total infections with 546,507 deaths from COVID-19.
The Johns Hopkins professor slammed Fauci's track record throughout the pandemic and for initially missing the mark on how the virus is transmitted, the effectiveness of masks and mitigation.
Dr. Marty Makary said on Thursday slammed Fauci's track record throughout the pandemic and for initially missing the mark on how the virus is transmitted and effectiveness of masks
Makary blasted Fauci, pictured, for being 'around' for Sars-CoV-1 but missing the mark on Sars-CoV-2
'His job is to prepare us for a pandemic and tell us how to manage it. He mostly missed the pandemic for the two months prior, never prepared us, was wrong on masks,' Makary said.
'We should have known that but the aerosolized transmission because Sars-CoV-2 behaves like Sars-CoV-1. That was aerosolized droplets as well. He was around for that.'
During the segment, Makary explained why he believed Americans have already started to reach herd immunity.
'After you get the infection, your body develops antibodies. These are the same antibodies the vaccine is trying to trigger and create,' Makary said.
'When you have circulating antibodies, that means have you protection from the infection.'
The San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier this month that about 38% of Californians had antibodies against the coronavirus, according to figures presented during a virtual meeting hosted by the California Medical Association.
During the webinar, researchers said that 45% of people in Los Angeles have these antibodies. The Bay Area and greater Sacramento region each recorded 32% of the population with COVID-19 antibodies.
Makary pointed to this data as evidence that Americans are approaching herd immunity.
'That's why infections are down 95% in Los Angeles over the last 10 weeks, their positivity rate is down to 1.6% right now,' Makary said.
Los Angeles County saw just 608 new cases and 66 deaths reported on Thursday, according to the health department's website.
'Reinfections are very rare. That means, naturally immunity is real,' Makary said.
Former President Donald Trump also blasted Fauci in an interview on The Truth With Lisa Boothe podcast on Monday
However, not all health experts agree with the implied assessment that reinfections should not be taken seriously.
Last month, Kaiser Health News published an article noting that 'U.S. health officials may be overlooking an unsettling subgroup of survivors: those who get infected more than once.'
According to a global reinfection tracker, there have been 66 confirmed reinfections worldwide with just two deaths after reinfection.
'That sounds like a rather insignificant number. But scientists' understanding of reinfection has been constrained by the limited number of U.S. labs that retain COVID testing samples or perform genetic sequencing,' Kaiser Health News reported.
'A KHN review of surveillance efforts finds that many U.S. states aren't rigorously tracking or investigating suspected cases of reinfection.'
Makary, however, said that Fauci telling people that 75% to 80% of the population needs to get vaccinated neglects the percentage of people who have natural immunity.
'You cannot have a need for 75% to 80% of the population get vaccinated to get to herd immunity and half the population with natural immunity currently. Both cannot be true,' Makary argued.
Makary told Fox News that the United States has hit herd immunity already for healthcare workers.
'We are there in nursing homes right now. Cases are down 98%,' he said.
Last month, a New York Times analysis showed that new cases and deaths in nursing homes have fallen dramatically 'since the arrival of vaccines' and are 'outpacing national declines.'
'Herd immunity is not binary, it's not all or nothing. It's gradual slowing and we have seen it now in North Dakota. They have probably hit herd immunity,' Makary said.
He added that the nation will reach herd immunity in April or May - even as younger people continue to get 'mostly asymptomatic and mild cases.'
Former President Donald Trump also blasted Fauci in an interview on The Truth With Lisa Boothe podcast on Monday.
'I thought rather than firing him, you know, I listened to him but I didn't do what he said because, frankly, his record is not a good record,' Trump said.
'I like him personally. He is actually a nice guy. Is he a great promoter. He is really a promoter more than anything else.'
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