■ Dr. Anthony Fauci offered insight into his role in the Biden administration.
‘Liberating’ to discuss science, official says
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci called it “liberating” Thursday to be backed by a science-friendly administration that has embraced his recommendations to battle COVID-19.
“One of the new things in this administration is, if you don’t know the answer, don’t guess,” Fauci said in one observation during a White House briefing. “Just say you don’t know the answer.”
Fauci’s visible schedule on Thursday, the first full day of President Joe Biden’s term, underscored the new administration’s confidence in the doctor.
His day began with a 4 a.m. virtual meeting with officials of the World Health Organization, which is based in Switzerland, and stretched past a 4 p.m. appearance at the lectern in the White House briefing room.
Fauci made clear that he believed the new administration would not trade in mixed messages.
“The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know and what the science is … it is something of a liberating feeling,” Fauci told reporters. White House press secretary Jen Psaki had invited Fauci to take the podium first at her daily briefing.
While choosing his words carefully, Fauci acknowledged that it had been difficult at times to work for former President Donald Trump.
“It was very clear that there were things that were said, be it regarding things like hydroxychloroquine and other things, that really was uncomfortable because they were not based in scientific fact,” Fauci said. He added that he took “no pleasure” in having to contradict the president.
In his return to the briefing room, Fauci joked with reporters. And as he stepped off the stage, Psaki said she soon would have him back. In other developments:
■ Louisiana will continue to use an expanded version of absentee-by-mail voting for the upcoming spring elections that will fill two U.S. House seats, under a coronavirus emergency plan that won bipartisan approval from lawmakers Thursday. Ballots submitted by lawmakers and released by each chamber showed 80 of 105 House members agreed to the proposal, along with 35 of 39 senators.
■ Florida’s top health officer said coronavirus vaccinations will be restricted for only state residents amid “extremely limited” supplies of vaccines. In a two-page advisory, state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees advised counties to prioritize available doses to Florida residents, including so-called snowbirds who reside in the state part-time.
■ Gov. Mike Dewine announced Ohio will use $50 million in federal pandemic aid dollars to buy 2 million at-home rapid coronavirus tests to help local health departments respond faster to testing needs.
■ California said it’s safe to begin using a batch of coronavirus vaccine doses after health officials urged a halt to injections and held a review because several people had reactions. Wednesday’s decision frees up more than 300,000 doses to counties, cities and hospitals struggling to obtain supplies. With the largest U.S. population at 40 million people, California has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the country behind New York.