STAT July 8, 2024
Imagine this post-9/11 scenario: A New York City fire company is forced to shut down and lay off its firefighters because some Americans believe a bizarre conspiracy theory that this fire company brought down the World Trade Center towers.
A Covid-19 version of this freakish tale is happening today. Instead of a fire company, the conspiracy gang is targeting an important, successful, decades-old nonprofit organization that researches viral epidemics and tries to predict and forestall future “fires” — new viral outbreaks — that might kill millions of people. It broke my heart to hear testimony in a hearing convened by the House of Representatives that staunch supporters of science like Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci have tacitly agreed to this...