In the interview, Dr. Collins was asked about a range of issues, including the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic was the result of a lab leak.
Newly released testimony from Dr. Francis Collins, the former Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who helped lead America’s COVID-19 pandemic response, indicates that there was a lack of scientific evidence for the six-foot social distancing rule that was a key fixture of COVID-19 restrictions.
On May 16, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, released a transcript from Dr. Collins’s transcribed interview, which took place on Capitol Hill in January behind closed doors.
In the interview, Dr. Collins was asked about a range of issues, including the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic was the result of a lab leak or lab-related accident, and the six-foot social distancing rule that was one of the hallmarks of pandemic-era curbs on freedom of movement and assembly.
At one point in the interview, the committee majority counsel made reference to a January interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said that the six-foot distancing rule “sort of just appeared” and was likely not based on any data.
“We asked Dr. Fauci where the six feet came from and he said it kind of just appeared, is the quote,” the majority counsel on the committee told Dr. Collins, per the transcript of the interview. “Do you recall science or evidence that supported the six-feet distance?”
Dr. Collins replied, “I do not.”
The majority counsel then said, “Is that I do not recall or I do not see any evidence supporting six feet?”
Dr. Collins responded, “I did not see evidence, but I’m not sure I would have been shown evidence at that point.”
“Since then, it has been an awfully large topic. Have you seen any evidence since then supporting six feet?” the majority counsel asked.
Dr. Collins said, “No.”
The remarks by Dr. Collins offer further indication that officials issuing guidelines at the height of the pandemic were, at least to some extent, making decisions that were not explicitly supported by scientific data.
Various officials involved in crafting the U.S. pandemic response, including Dr. Fauci, have said that they were making good-faith decisions based on the available data at the time and that once new information emerged, they adjusted their recommendations accordingly.
By Tom Ozimek
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