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A resurfaced video of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s 2021 door-to-door COVID-19 vaccine campaign is gaining renewed attention amid his contentious testimony before Congress on the federal handling of the pandemic.
The clip shows Fauci, then White House health advisor, and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser visiting residents in the city’s Anacostia neighborhood to encourage them to get vaccinations. But the footage shows several skeptical residents challenged Fauci over the vaccines’ rapid development, long-term safety and the government’s messaging — exchanges that have become a flashpoint in the debate over the federal response.
And now that Fauci’s diary has been published and includes seemingly contradictory public statements versus private musings, his entire involvement has come under the microscope of his biggest critics.
“The people in America are not settled with the information that’s been given to us right now. So I’m not gonna be lining up taking a shot on a vaccination, for something that wasn’t clear in the first place and then you all create a shot in miraculous time. It takes years to create,” said a Washington, D.C. resident in the video shot by PBS in response to Fauci’s vaccine push campaign.
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Fauci and Bowser, whose leaving office at the conclusion of her current term, encouraged residents in the “historic African American neighborhood” of D.C. to get the vaccine, seemingly attempting to persuade skeptical residents and using Fauci as an expert to sway them.
“[If] thousands of people, like you, don’t get vaccinated, you’re going to let this virus continue to percolate in this country and in this world,” urged Bowser standing alongside the nation’s top voice on the coronavirus at the time.
That resident pushed back, continuing to question the very swift timeline of the vaccine’s development and roll out. They compared it to the flu and expressed skepticism over why the government was incentivizing residents to get the jab.
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“Because when you start talking about paying people to get vaccinated, when you start talking about incentivizing things to get people vaccinated, there’s something else going on with that. Something else. It’s something else,” said the resident.
Critics on social media swiftly responded to the resurfaced clip.
“They’re terrified of a free-thinking black man. God bless this man,” wrote “The Riley Gaines Show” podcast Riley Gaines on X.
“Earlier this day, Fauci learned he had a blood clot in his lung. Yet he still beat on black people’s doors, telling them to get the COVID shots. And these (mad) scientists wonder why black Americans are leery of vaccines? Maybe they don’t want to be Tuskegee test rats again,” wrote Article III Project founder Mike Davis.
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“Never forget this brave American citizen that turned down getting a Covid vaccine and called out Fauci right to his face on camera,” wrote one user on X.
“What an absolute legend this guy… telling that narcissistic, deranged liar and his acolytes to GFT with their sh*tccine,” wrote Bitcoin miner Javier Hermonsa.
Fauci and Bowser both did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the video making its rounds on social media ahead of the retired medical advisor’s appearance in Congress on Wednesday.
Fauci was subpoenaed by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul to answer questions primarily about the U.S. government’s handling of COVID-19 and the origins of the virus.
Ahead of the hearing Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump blasted Fauci on Truth Social.
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“I Inherited Fauci, who was there since the 1980’s, but with each passing day, relied less and less on him. He made too many bad calls,” wrote Trump in part.
“Fauci was largely taken out of play, and then along came Sleepy Joe Biden, who made Fauci a ‘King!’ I called Biden to tell him Fauci was no good, either didn’t have a clue, or was dishonest. The call was well received, but sadly, not acted on. Biden went on to give Fauci vast destructive power,” he added.
During the hearing, Fauci repeatedly refused to answer substantive questions, invoking the Fifth Amendment against questions from lawmakers at least 111 times during the hearing.
Paul said the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a vote next week to “certify” Fauci’s contempt of Congress.