Former surgeon general: Republicans 'support' vaccines, but 'want transparency'
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams tells ‘America Reports’ that he and Dr. Anthony Fauci ‘wrongly advised against masks’ amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams told "America Reports" Tuesday that Republicans "support" coronavirus vaccinations, but just want "transparency."
"People should not listen to politicians when it comes to health advice," Adams told co-host, John Roberts. "They should listen to their doctors."
Adams made these comments after an aide for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive Monday for coronavirus following a meeting last week with members of the Texas Legislature who fled the state for Washington, D.C.
VACCINATED PELOSI AND BIDEN AIDES TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID
The breakthrough cases come after six members of the Texas delegation tested positive for the virus after leaving the state Capitol and coming to Washington last week in an attempt to prevent a special legislative session where Republicans seek to pass new election reforms.
"We keep getting humbled by this virus. We keep learning more, and we need to be transparent with people when we don't know, what we don't know," Adams told Roberts. "We can't declare victory too early. We've got to realize we're going to be living with this for a while, but we can live with it if you get vaccinated."
Adams served as surgeon general under former President Donald Trump, taking a prominent role throughout the early phase of the pandemic. He recently took to Twitter to voice his own regrets and concerns over mask mandates since then.
"Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks," Adams wrote in a rare admission of a misstep. "I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it."
He urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to instead advise people to get vaccinated and wear masks in areas with higher cases of COVID-19 until numbers start to decline.
"I trust the CDC, but we also have to be honest when what we're doing isn't working. And right now you have rising cases, you have decreasing vaccinations," he concluded. "We need to understand that this is going to continue to evolve, and…as Governor Abbott said when in doubt, talk to your doctor, talk to your health provider, trust your local health officials."
Meanwhile, earlier Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before the Senate committee to discuss the Delta coronavirus variant spreading. Walensky indicated she is not going to change the mask mandate guidance anytime soon.
"In areas where vaccine coverage is low, cases and hospitalizations are starting to climb again, the message from CDC remains clear," Walensky remarked. "The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants is to prevent the spread of disease, and vaccination is the most powerful tool we have."
Adams added there has been vaccine hesitancy in the United States, as Democrats are blaming Republicans.
However, Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned last year that she did not "trust Donald Trump" and "would not take the coronavirus vaccine." Since then, Harris has reversed her stance on the vaccination, as she received the doses and encourages all Americans to get the shot.
VP KAMALA HARRIS TESTED NEGATIVE FOR COVID-19 AFTER MEETING WITH TEXAS DEMOCRATS, PSAKI SAYS
"You have to look at different groups that may not have caused [hesitancy] in conservative America," Adams said. "But it certainly could have caused some hesitancy among the African-American population, which we know has lower than average vaccination rates."
The former surgeon general encouraged the Biden administration to help people understand how incredibly dangerous the Delta variant is.
"[The Delta variant] should affect everything from mass policy to vaccination policy to immigration policy," Adams concluded. "We need to understand 1,000 times more viral particles, if you've got the Delta variant, makes this incredibly transmissible."
Fox News' Marisa Schultz and Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
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