Politics

Former FDA Chief: Nobody Knows Where Six Feet Of Social Distancing Requirement Came From

Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb claims “nobody knows” where the six feet of social distancing separation recommendation came from.

Gottlieb, in an interview with CBS’s “Face The Nation,” indicated the rule was arbitrary and not necessarily based on current science.

“Nobody knows where it came from. Most people assume that the six feet of distance, the recommendation for keeping six feet apart, comes out of some old studies related to flu, where droplets don’t travel more than six feet,” he said.

Gottlieb indicates that the initial recommendation was 10 feet, but ultimately became three feet based on an actual study.

“When it became three feet, the basis for the CDC’s decision to ultimately revise it from six to three feet was a study that they conducted the prior fall,” he explained. “So they changed it in the spring.”

Gottlieb served as FDA Commissioner between 2017 and April of 2019.

Six Feet Of Social Distancing Was Arbitrary

Gottlieb indicates it was the Biden administration that asked the recommendation for six feet of social distancing to be lowered in an effort to allow schools to open.

Noting the initial recommendation of 10 feet, the former FDA chief pointed out how the media would have been apoplectic if the former President had tried doing the same thing.

“So the compromise was around six feet. Now imagine if that detail had leaked out. Everyone would have said, ‘This is the White House politically interfering with the CDC’s judgment,'” he explained.

Gottlieb added, “The CDC said 10 feet, it should be 10 feet, but 10 feet was no more right than six feet and ultimately became three feet.”

Dr. Fauci Says Teachers Still Need to Keep Their Distance

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, argued back in March that the six feet of social distancing still applied to teachers in the classroom.

“So, now children, as long as they continue to wear masks, will be in school at three feet,” he explained at the time.

“That doesn’t mean from the teachers, because they still have to be six feet from the teachers, and the teachers still need to be six feet from each other,” Fauci added. “But the children, three feet from each other, is going to be okay from now on.”

Got it?

Fauci has said he argued with former President Trump about keeping social distancing rules in place early on in the pandemic.

“We argued strongly with the president that he not withdraw those [social-distancing] guidelines after 15 days but that he extend them—and he did listen,” Fauci said.

Trump let the social distancing recommendations expire shortly thereafter.

Left-wing media slammed President Trump for ignoring social-distancing recommendations.

A Slate column last August accused Trump of getting thousands of Americans killed by not following such guidelines.

“The president’s most decisive contribution to the death toll was his resistance to public health measures known as ‘mitigation’: social distancing, school and workplace closures, and cancellations of large gatherings,” they wrote.

Multiple outlets last year tried to solve the mystery of where the guideline came from.

Business Insider notes that the six feet guideline came from a study that is now 80 years old.

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Rusty Weiss

Rusty Weiss is a freelance writer focusing on the conservative movement and its political agenda. He has been following and analyzing the political climate for several years, and his writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, FoxNews.com and more.