In the context, I don't think so. This is in no way a matter of "genuflecting before science", any more than changing the oil in your car is a matter of genuflecting before mechanics. Not doing so won't necessarily harm your engine to the point that it no longer serves you, but it quite possibly will...it's a matter of playing the odds.

When pandemics happen society has only two defenses, medical science and public health, both of which Dr. Fauci was a leading expert in with decades of experience. Had the Whitehouse been occupied by a sane person, there never would have been an issue of following the science where it led and acting accordingly.

Tragically, a malignant narcissist sat in the Oval, someone who was incapable of putting people's lives and the welfare of the nation ahead of his own ego and ambition. Somewhere near a million Americans paid the ultimate price for his gaslighting, minimizing, attacks on science and public health, and refusal to lead.

Given that I followed the news out of China closely in December of '19 and January of '20, I knew, as did trump, how deadly serious Covid could potentially be.

Fauci knew this as well, but had the nearly impossible job of coordinating a national response that included dire shortages of critical supplies and equipment, an unknown transmission process, and a science denying boss who could and probably would fire him and replace him with an incompetent if the whim struck.

I'm very thankful I didn't have to make these calls and only had to manage my own and my elderly father's health.