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Comment by b0sk | Hacker News Reader

Given that there were absolutely no widespread studies at that point, they had to go on priors. And the 6 ft guidelines was based on the belief that if COVID spread mainly through droplets (which was the most likely theory at that point). The children aspect was again based on limited information available at that point.

With all the data now, we see that COVID affected older and less healthier population. They had no idea at that point, conclusively so always erred on the side of caution. All this house investigation is a Republican witch-hunt.

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> With all the data now, we see that COVID affected older and less healthier population.

That was always going to be the case. Less old and healthy people were carriers.

This is not a political topic. We have a right to have questions answered about a significant event.

As long as you're asking those questions in good faith, sure.

Whether a question is valid and worthy of exploration has nothing to do with whether the listener deems the intention behind it to be "correct". The preposterous notion that certain questions are part of a sinister "'Just asking questions' rhetorical device" and must be ignored long ago became, like "dogwhistle", the first resort of those that don't want the statement/question dealt with at all.

He should not be punished for the 6ft guidelines or the mask mandates (I agree that it's better to be safe than sorry). However, Fauci did promote the idea that the lab leak theory was a racist conspiracy theory, and he denied that the NIH was funding gain of function research in China.

Yes yes don't ask questions. It's not gain of function it's mess with function or whatever Fauci barfs up for the day.

And what the general population doesn't get about public health officials is they are only concerned with "how to save lives", "how to stop the spread" and "how to not overwhelm the health system".

Given the choice of widespread admittance of children to hospitals vs inconveniencing them with masks, they'd always choose the latter option. With the benefit of hindsight, there are always things to blame but this investigation is a hackjob.

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