Mocked over masks. Chewed out over China. Now, COVID skeptics clearly deserve an apology | Opinion
Much of the pandemic is behind us, but for years, those who questioned the government’s response were smeared. Now, from the origins of the virus to the usefulness of masks, the questions are proving to be legitimate. Some say just move on, but when something that massive hits us, it’s important to take stock of how we handled it.
Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that evidence shows the COVID virus likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. Taken with other shifts in the narrative since 2020, this splinters the integrity of the information that Dr. Anthony Fauci and others have relayed to the American people since the beginning. Add to that additional evidence that shows the U.S. response to the virus, whatever its origin, was authoritarian and dramatic, and the splinter has grown to an obvious crack.
A few months ago, a Pfizer executive admitted to the European Parliament that it had not tested whether its COVID-19 vaccine prevented transmission of the virus before it entered the market. Unfortunately, several health organizations, from the World Health Organization to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, encouraged Americans and the world to get vaccinated for themselves and for others. From that, national, state, and local officials implemented vaccine requirements, nay, mandates, that affected everything from employment status to dining out.
Halting the spread of the vaccine through what now seem like Draconian mandates was paramount to government officials: Churches were closed. Parks were roped off. Restaurants built sidewalk enclaves to accommodate “outdoor” dining. Grocery stores remained open but mom-and-pop pizza shops were shuttered. Remote work exploded; hospitality-based businesses collapsed. Families lost their businesses, life savings, and sanity.
Masks became a topic unto themselves: Once Fauci encouraged mandating them, government officials — often Democrats — did so everywhere: Schools, businesses, playgrounds. We know now, and some health officials even knew in 2020, that cloth masks were hardly effective at halting the spread of COVID
Scientists at the University of Minnesota wrote in April 2020 that “though we support mask wearing by the general public, we continue to conclude that cloth masks and face coverings are likely to have limited impact on lowering COVID-19 transmission, because they have minimal ability to prevent the emission of small particles … and should not be recommended as a replacement for physical distancing” or less time in indoor crowds.
In two years we’ve learned that every reaction to COVID — shuttering businesses, remaining inside and wearing masks — has been less effective than officials hoped. As information has revealed itself, the narrative shifted. People who had once scoffed at the idea that the virus originated in the Wuhan lab now realized that night might have been true.
The same thing happened with shutting schools, mask mandates, and even the certainty of vaccine efficacy. It’s not that media, lawmakers, or public health officials can’t change their minds once they learn information — no one is against closing the information gap. The issue is about the way skeptics were treated. Anyone who questioned Fauci was labeled a conspiracy theorist or worse.
Even Sen. Ted Cruz, who certainly isn’t right about everything, fact-checked the virus’ origin on his podcast. To his credit, he has suggested that theory since 2020. Yet he has been repeatedly blasted for saying something that turned out to be a solid probability — probably because he’s conservative.
What have we learned from the COVID pandemic? A number of things about the efficacy of closing down the economy and schools, the limitations of masks and vaccines, but most importantly, we have learned that a hallmark of freedom in America is the ability to question a narrative, to be curious about information from our government — especially information that comes with mandates and consequences — and to push back against information that doesn’t make sense or seems like it forces us to isolate ourselves.
We have learned that it’s not only OK to question our leaders, but at times, it is also a moral imperative. From curiosity and skepticism, the truth prevails.
