The Senate heard from top Biden administration officials Tuesday about the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the omicron variant rages amid a shortage of tests for the disease.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee held a hearing that included a verbal battle between Sen. Paul and Dr. Fauci.
There were questions about new health guidance, COVID-19 testing, and other issues.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was one of the people who testified.
There are four key issues raised in the Senate hearing.
1. The new CDC guidance is confusing.
The CDC director was pressed by committee chairwoman Patty Murray about the new guidance.
Murray said that she had heard from many people who found the CDC guidance confusing and hard to understand.
Dr. Walensky, can you explain to me what the CDC recommends people do if they contract COVID-19? Murray asked. Let's start with people who have been shot. What are your instructions to them?
The agency does not give different guidance based on vaccination status for people who contract the disease, Walensky said.
If they are exposed to COVID-19 and boosted, they should not stay home, but should take a test on Day Five.
Our guidance does not differentiate between your vaccination status and COVID. Our science shows that you are infectious two days before and two days after. If you are feeling better by five days after your symptoms, you can go out. You have to wear a mask. You have to wear a mask. You shouldn't go to places where you can't wear a mask. You should not visit grandma. You should not go on an airplane.
2. The epitome of cheap politics is Paul vs. Fauci.
Fauci, the idea that a government official like yourself would claim to represent science and that any criticism of you would be a criticism of science itself is quite dangerous, according to Paul. Central planning is risky because of the fallibility of the planners.
In November, Fauci said in a CBS News interview, "I represent the science."
Paul brought up some of Fauci's emails, which showed that he and Collins wanted to publish a story about epidemiologists from Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford universities who had different ideas.
Paul said that this was the epitome of cheap politics and was antithetical to the scientific method.
Fauci said that the email came from Collins to him.
Fauci said that Senator was misrepresenting everything about him.
He said that Senator, you are incorrect in almost everything you say.
RandPaul just dropped the hammer on Dr. Fauci.
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Do you think it's appropriate to use your $420,000 salary to attack scientists that disagree with you?
John Cooper is a reporter for Thejcoop.
Fauci and his family have faced threats. He mentioned a man who was arrested in December for having an assault rifle in his car and said that he was going to kill Fauci and others.
The senator's campaign website said "Fire Fauci", which was used to accuse Paul of stirring people up.
Fauci said that if you contribute to the website of the libertarian thinker, you will see a box that says "Fire Dr. Fauci." $5, $10, $20, $100 are all you can do.
He told Paul that he was making a catastrophic epidemic for his political gain.
Fauci didn't address Paul's questions.
You attacked your colleagues in a politically reprehensible way. The Kentucky Republican said that he wouldn't defend it.
Fauci was told by Paul that there was a lot of unhappiness with him, but nobody wanted him to use violence.
3. Money is tested to see if it is diversified.
The lack of federal orders caused test manufacturers to reduce production, according to Sen. Susan Collins.
She said that manufacturers in Maine laid off workers.
Collins told O'Connell that the administration failed to anticipate the testing needs.
A lack of federal orders for tests between January and September of 2021 caused the manufacturers to reduce their lines and lay off workers.
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I don't think we are in the position we are in because of a lack of funding, but because of a lack of planning. Is any of the funding that was supposed to be used for testing diverted for other purposes?
O'Connell said testing remains a priority. The work we have done on testing has been to promote the priorities of expanding the number of testing sites available, expanding the type of tests available for use in the United States, and lowering the costs of tests.
Government spending on state-based COVID-19 testing programs at schools, community testing sites for the uninsured, procuring testing supplies, and helping states to build and promote testing programs was detailed by O'Connell.
She said that some of the funds have been used for mitigation efforts. One of the responsibilities that we have within HHS is to make sure that the children who are alone are cared for. Some of the funds were used to separate the children from the other children at the border.
Collins pressed the HHS official over money diverted from the testing budget to deal with the surge of people, including children, who are illegally crossing the southern border.
All of the funds appropriated to the American Rescue Plan were used for testing, contact tracing, and mitigation efforts.
She said funds were used to test children at the border and then to mitigate the COVID-positive cases so they wouldn't enter the community.
Collins said that he was still not getting an answer to his question. $850 million out of the testing budget and another $850 million out of the allocation for the stockpile were used to deal with the crisis at the southern border, according to an investigation by our staff.
The border crisis and the shortage of COVID-19 tests are connected, according to the Maine Republican.
If the southern border were under control, we would use the $850 million for more rapid tests. The $850 million would be used for the purposes for which it was intended. I think that this is a problem that has contributed to the shortage of testing at the border.
4. Don't promise 500 million tests until we have a product.
Biden promised to distribute 500 million tests and Sen. Richard Burr raised concerns over the manufacturing of COVID-19 tests.
The FDA decided to focus on contracting companies that have the capacity to manufacture more than 500,000 tests per week within three months of being authorized.
He asked why the FDA suggested to companies that couldn't ramp up to manufacturing that they wouldn't be prioritized.
The agency prioritized larger companies because of the urgent need for high volume home-based tests.
Woodcock was told by Burr that the Food and Drug Administration is telling smaller companies not to innovate because they won't be considered for emergency use authorization if they don't have a manufacturing capacity of 500,000 tests a week.
Woodstock said the smaller companies wouldn't get to the others.
The details of how the Biden administration planned to encourage as many companies as possible to make enough tests to meet the president's pledge of producing 500 million tests were continued to be pressured.
The cost of 13.6 million tests is $190 million, according to one of O'Connell's contracts.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has a new rule that requires insurance companies to reimburse you at a rate of up to $12 per individual test.
If I sell directly to the federal government, I will probably get 14 dollars, because I am under a $12 reimbursement.
He asked O'Connell where he was wrong.
The government is continuing to work to access the tests that will be distributed as part of the $500 million.
It is more profitable to sell to the federal government than it is to put it on retail, based upon the reimbursements that this administration has now required of insurers, said Burr.
At the end of the hearing, Burr sympathized with those testifying, saying, "You guys have a tough job."
Fauci, Walensky, Woodcock, and O'Connell were admonished by the senator to be more careful about their promises.
When you guys huddle inside the COVID team, try to get the administration to refrain from making these proclamations until we have the product.
Three weeks have passed since the president said we would buy 500 million tests. 50 million are currently contracted. I don't know how long it will take to get the rest of the contract.
Within 24 hours of publication, a quote from Fauci was restored.
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