Cruz accuses Fauci of playing politics with COVID-19 after recent comment about hospitalized children
Cruz retweeted an interview Fauci had on MSNBC where he spoke about the troubling numbers of children in the hospital
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and top critic of Dr. Anthony Fauci, took to Twitter late Thursday to accuse the top disease doctor of editing his message when it comes to COVID-19 hospitalizations during the Biden administration.
Cruz retweeted an interview Fauci had on MSNBC where he spoke about the troubling numbers of children in the hospital with the virus. Fauci made clear that there is a distinction between the number of children hospitalized with COVID as opposed to "because of COVID."
"And what we mean by that: If a child goes into the hospital, they automatically get tested for COVID and they get counted as a COVID-hospitalized individual, when, in fact, they may go in for a broken leg or appendicitis or something like that. So it’s over counting the number of children who are, quote, hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID," Fauci said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the president, gestures as he answers a question from a reporter after giving an update on the omicron COVID-19 variant during the daily press briefing at the White House on Dec. 1, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Cruz posted, "Now Fauci says this? Is this because pandemic politics have changed for the Biden admin?"
Sen. Ted Cruz, has been a vocal critic of Dr. Anthony Fauci. ( Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fauci’s comments came after a record surge of children in the U.S. being "hospitalized with COVID." During the week of Dec. 22-28, an average of 378 children 17 and under were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirus, a 66% increase from the week before. The Associated Press reported that children continue to represent a small number of cases due to COVID-19.
Cruz’s tweet comes at a time that the Biden administration faces new criticism about its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Critics say Biden defeated former President Trump because he vowed to take control of the virus but he admitted this week that there is "no federal solution."
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"This gets solved at a state level….and it ultimately gets down to where the rubber meets the road and that’s where the patient is in need of help, or preventing the need of help," Biden said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board pointed out that Biden, as the 2020 presidential candidate, pledged "to shut down the virus, not the country."
The Associated Press contributed to this report