Did public health officials mislead us? ‘Coronavirus is not a major threat for the people in United States, and this is not something the citizens should be worried about,’ Dr. Fauci said on January 21

April 13 (5:30 PM) Update: In a February 29, 2020 appearance on the NBC’s Today Show, when Dr. Fauci was asked if Americans should stop enjoying their daily routines. Fauci answered point blank, “No.” Dr. Fauci added: ‘Risk is low, no need to change lifestyle yet. Malls, movie theaters, gyms okay‘ 

As coronavirus continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives around the world, we’ve been repeatedly told to listen to our public health officials. However, what happens if public health officials gave us erroneous information? For months, public health officials told us we didn’t need to wear masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Then last week, they changed their stance saying that masks may indeed reduce the spread of the virus.

The confusion about the use of mask is pale in comparison to two statements made in January by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. On January 21, 2020, when asked about how deadly the virus is and if Americans should be worried, Dr. Fauci responded: “This is not a major threat for the people in United States, and this is not something the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about.”

You can watch the video below.

“This is not a major threat for the people in United States, and this is not something the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about” – Dr. Fauci to @gregkellyusa, Jan 21, 2020 pic.twitter.com/xMrkGEvVX3

— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) April 3, 2020

That was not the only time Dr. Fauci made such a misleading statement. In an unearthed audio from January 26, Dr. Fauci assured Americans that the coronavirus is nothing to worry about. “The American people should not be worried or frightened by this. It’s a very, very low risk to the United States,” Dr. Fauci said on The CATS Roundtable John Catsimatidis. Dr. Fauci added:“It isn’t something that the American public needs to worry about or be frightened about.” Notwithstanding what Dr. Fauci had said, U.S. President Trump decided to issue a travel ban five days later.

Given his track record, It came as a surprise after Dr. Fauci went on airwaves and said this earlier today on CNN’s State of the Union. “If Trump had listened to our recommendations, we could  have saved lives.”

Update: Below is a transcript of exactly what Dr. Fauci said during the interview with CNN:

“Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those decisions is complicated,” added Fauci, who is a key member of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force. “But you’re right, I mean, obviously, if we had right from the very beginning shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different. But there was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then.”

Also in late March, Dr. Anthony Fauci said: “Between 100,000 and 200,000 people could die from coronavirus in the United States.” That projection was later revised down to 66,415 deaths. Many of you may be asking why the track record of public health officials matters. The issue at stake is tha government leaders rely on recommendations from these officials to shape health policy and make decisions that affect millions of lives, especially during this coronavirus pandemic.

Below is a video of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s flip flop on travel recommendations on Feb 26 vs. March 12