Virus adviser set to leave White House
A SCIENCE adviser to US president Donald Trump who was sceptical of measures to control the coronavirus outbreak is leaving his White House post.
A White House official confirmed Dr Scott Atlas, a Stanford University neuroradiologist who had no formal experience in public health or infectious diseases, resigned at the end of his temporary government assignment.
He joined the White House this summer where he clashed with top government scientists, including Dr Anthony Fauci and Dr Deborah Birx, as he resisted stronger efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed more than 267,000 Americans.
Dr Atlas has broken with government experts and the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community to criticise efforts to encourage face coverings to slow the spread of the virus. Weeks ago, he responded to Michigan’s latest virus restrictions by encouraging people to “rise up” against the state’s policies. His views also prompted Stanford to issue a statement distancing itself from the faculty member, saying Dr Atlas “has expressed views that are inconsistent with the university’s approach in response to the pandemic”.
“We support using masks, social distancing, and conducting surveillance and diagnostic testing,” the
university said in November. “We also believe in the importance of strictly following the guidance of local and state health authorities.”
Dr Atlas defended his role in his resignation letter, saying: “I cannot think of a time where safeguarding science and the scientific debate is more urgent.”
He was hired as a special government employee, which limited his service to government to 130 days in a calendar year – a deadline he reached this week.
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Red Cross president said governments around the world needed to combat “fake news” around Covid-19 vaccines.
Leaders need to start building trust about the critical importance of vaccinating people, Francesco Rocca said, adding: “To beat this pandemic, we also have to defeat the parallel pandemic of distrust.”
Mr Rocca said there was “a growing hesitancy about vaccines in general, and about a Covid vaccine in particular”, pointing to a recent Johns Hopkins University study in 67 countries that found vaccine acceptance declined significantly in most countries from July to October. In a quarter of countries, he said, the acceptance rate for a vaccine against the virus was near or below 50%, with Japan dropping from 70% to 50%, and France dropping from 51% to 38% acceptance.