Gabrielle Etzel writes for the Washington Examiner about the lingering effects of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s questionable COVID guidance.

The legacy of Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has come under new scrutiny more than four years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many questions resurfacing regarding Fauci’s advice to presidents and the American people. …

… Fauci’s testimony this year before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, both in a transcribed interview in January and his public hearing in June, has raised questions regarding his guidance on masking, social distancing, and vaccines during the height of the pandemic.

At that time, Fauci denounced criticism of his recommendations as “attacks on science.” …

… When asked by Republicans about the face mask switch this year, the former NIAID director said his position was based on exaggerated information about the severity of the shortage of KN-95 and N-95 masks.

When asked by Republicans about masking children, Fauci said he did not recall reviewing studies about the effectiveness of their protection for children. He also said he had not reviewed any subsequent studies about the unintended consequences of masking children, such as learning loss or developmental delays. …

… Fauci and the whole White House Coronavirus Task Force, of which he was a key member, led the charge in proposing social distancing as a necessary step to slow the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommended avoiding coming within 6 feet of people from other households.

The 6-foot rule was used by authorities around the country as the scientific justification for shutdowns of schools, businesses, and other institutions.

Four years later, however, Fauci told Congress that the 6-foot rule, rather than being based on specific evidence, “sort of just appeared.”

“I don’t recall, like, a discussion of whether it should be 5 or 6 or whatever,” Fauci told Republicans when asked behind closed doors in January. “It sort of just appeared that 6 feet is going to be the distance.”