Fauci’s Released Correspondence Contradicts Public Statements on COVID Lockdowns, Mask Guidance

Senator Rand Paul released a collection of diary entries and email correspondence over the weekend that officials attribute to Dr. Anthony Fauci, containing statements that differ significantly from his public positions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The materials reveal Fauci’s private assessments of major pandemic policies including lockdowns, school closures, and mask mandates, which have become subjects of extensive public debate regarding their effectiveness and consequences.

In an email to Dr. Deborah Birx dated June 18, 2020, Fauci stated he had been examining case increases that appeared unrelated to business openings, closures, or large gatherings. He wrote that case surges might stem from factors other than identifiable events, suggesting uncertainty about whether closures were containing the virus. This assessment came only months into the initial shutdowns, yet Fauci continued advocating for extended lockdown measures in subsequent months, including public criticism of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s reopening decisions in September 2020.

Regarding mask guidance, an April 15, 2020 email shows Fauci discussing strategy to promote public masking adoption with Birx, stating that citizens were already wearing masks and officials should support the practice. The correspondence does not reference scientific studies, peer-reviewed research, or newly available data supporting the mask recommendation, which had been issued by the CDC days earlier after previous guidance against public masking.

Fauci’s diary entries also document his satisfaction with his elevated public profile and media appearances throughout the pandemic, with entries cataloging interviews and expressions of enthusiasm about his rising prominence. The materials include references to dinner plans with CNN personalities and discussions of award recognition for his pandemic response work.

In entries from early 2020, Fauci recorded his estimate that COVID-19’s mortality rate was approximately 0.2 to 0.3 percent. However, in a subsequent Fox News interview, he stated the mortality rate at 2 to 2.5 percent, later revising downward to around 1 percent—still significantly higher than his private assessment.

The diary entries also reference a 2020 conference call among virologists discussing the virus’s origins, during which most participants expressed belief that deliberate genetic modification was possible. Despite this, Fauci and others did not publicly acknowledge these discussions, and institutional scientific figures discouraged lab-origin theories in media statements during the early pandemic period.

In a 2023 New York Times interview, Fauci stated he had never personally shut down schools or factories. However, released emails indicate he advised then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office to implement such closures during 2020.