US virologist Fauci takes on a senator who is critical of vaccinations

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US virologist Anthony Fauci has had enough of the attacks by Republican Rand Paul

Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / POOL / EPA

During an appearance before Congress in Washington, the well-known US virologist and government advisor Anthony Fauci defended himself against a vaccine-critical senator.

The Republican Rand Paul from the US state of Kentucky incited "crazy people" against him and his family with his comments on everything, said Fauci on Tuesday at a Senate hearing.

Paul had initially accused Fauci of being the "leading architect" of the US Corona policy, responsible for the approximately 450,000 corona deaths since President Joe Biden took office.

Although most of the corona victims were not vaccinated and Fauci repeatedly promotes the corona vaccination.

"You are attacking me personally here, although you have not the slightest evidence of evidence for any of your allegations," the virologist replied.

Death threats against the virologist

Paul's constant allegations against him also made him a target of violence: "Something like that incites the crazy people out there, and I get death threats, my family is molested, my children receive obscene phone calls," said Fauci.

He recalled that a California man armed with an assault rifle was arrested on his way to Washington in December who said he wanted to kill the virologist.

To substantiate his allegations, Fauci showed a printout of Paul's website with a photo of the scientist and the slogan “Fires Dr.

Fauci «along with an appeal for donations for Paul's election campaign.

The Republican was using a "catastrophic epidemic" for his own political gain, criticized the 81-year-old.

The number of corona patients treated in hospital in the USA has meanwhile reached a new high.

According to figures published on Tuesday, around 146,000 patients are currently being treated in clinics in the country for the lung disease Covid-19 caused by the coronavirus.

According to recent figures from New York State, the vast majority of those affected are unvaccinated.

There the quota of vaccinated Corona hospital patients at the end of December was 4.6 per 100,000 inhabitants per week, for the unvaccinated it was 58.3 per 100,000.

atb / AFP