On Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra during a congressional hearing and criticized the Biden administration for its seeming refusal to recognize the existence of natural immunity against COVID-19 after one contracts the virus.
Paul asked Becerra if he was aware of a major Israeli study that found that those who has natural immunity also had stronger protection against Covid than those who had merely been vaccinated.
Rand Paul battles Becerra pic.twitter.com/63TSqkOmpK
— ZNeveri (@ZNeveri) October 1, 2021
Rand Paul to HHS Secretary Becerra: ‘Are you a doctor or a medical doctor?’
Becerra told Paul that he was “not familiar with that study.”
That’s when the exchange became tense.
Paul replied, “I think you might want to be if you’re going to travel the country insulting the millions of Americans, including NBA star Jonathan Isaac, who had COVID, recovered — look at a study with 2.5 million people, and say, ‘Well, you know what, I should make the decision.”
“Instead, you’ve called Jonathan Isaac and others, myself included, flat-earthers. We find that very insulting, it goes against the science,” Paul continued.
NBA star Jonathan Isaac made headlines last week when he explained that he would not be getting the vaccine because he believed he has natural immunity.
Paul asked Becerra, “Are you a doctor or a medical doctor?”
Becerra told Paul he has “worked over 30 years on health policy.”
Then the HHS Secretary also dodged Paul’s follow-on question of whether he holds a science degree.
“This isn't an argument against the vaccine, but it's an argument for letting people make a decision who already have immunity." https://t.co/7hHwYVSD6B
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) October 1, 2021
Paul: ‘This is an arrogance coupled with an authoritarianism that is unseemly and un-American’
Paul said if the Biden administration wants more people to get vaccinated, it should first stop “lying to people about naturally acquired immunity.”
“Quit lording it over people, acting as if these people are deplorable and unwashed,” Paul said. “Try persuasion instead of government cudgels. Try humility instead of arrogance. Try freedom instead of coercion.”
Paul added, “Most of all, try understanding there is no more basic medical right than deciding what we inject into our bodies.”
“This is an arrogance coupled with an authoritarianism that is unseemly and un-American,” Paul said.
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