After WHO Flip Flop, Former FDA Chief Says No Reason for Another Round of Lockdowns in US

Dr. Scott Gottlieb appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday morning, as he often does, to comment on the coronavirus-related news of the day. And with many still trying to parse the meaning of this weekend’s latest WHO reversal in its guidance  – though, to be sure, Dr. Gottlieb insisted it wasn’t a “flip flop” – the former FDA head, who led Trump’s campaign against teen vaping, claimed that lockdowns were never well-suited to combating the virus.

“We were in a difficult position back in April and May because we didn’t know where the virus was spreading…we ended up implementing a stay at home order nationally when in fact we could have titrated our mitigation much more effectively but we needed to know where the virus was and was not spreading,” Dr. Gottlieb said.

“Now we do have the diagnostics deployed and I believe we’ll be able to fine tune our response as this epidemic starts to affect other regions of the country.”

“Other regions aren’t similarly affected and targeted interventions, or case-based interventions like tracking and tracing, could still work.”

Looking ahead, Dr. Gottlieb said there’s little reason for lockdowns to be employed in the US, or anywhere in the developing world.

“I think the idea that we’re going to do national stay at home orders – or even broad stay at home orders in select cities – it’s just not going to happen, the popular will isn’t there for it, the political leadership on a bipartisan basis aren’t going to support it. So those who are saying no more lockdowns here in the United States I think it’s sort of a straw man argument because it’s just not going to happen.”

"The idea that we're going to do a national, stay-at-home order … it's just not going to happen," says @ScottGottliebMD. "When history looks back on us, the critical failing is going to be the fact that we were so blind to the spread back in April and May." pic.twitter.com/x7xJP1OvcX

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) October 12, 2020

When historians look back on 2020, the critical failure is that “we were so blind to the spread back in April and May,” Dr. Gottlieb said.

But at this point, testing is widely available across the US. So why are hundreds of thousands of businesses and schools still closed?

And why are big tech companies like Google still censoring the Great Barrington declaration?

Furthermore, maybe Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden needs to have a little chat with Dr. Gottlieb.

“I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists.”

Joe Biden tells @DavidMuir in an exclusive interview that as president, he would shut the country down to stop the spread of COVID-19 if the move was recommended by scientists. https://t.co/2A9r07d7EC pic.twitter.com/Ib99cshlSI

— ABC News (@ABC) August 21, 2020

Moving on, Dr. Gottlieb was then asked to comment on the second-most-pressing COVID-19-related issue of the day: Is President Trump contagious?

“He’s probably not,” Dr. Gottlieb concluded.

"It depends how he's feeling. It really comes down to his health," says @ScottGottliebMD on if President Trump should return to the campaign trail. "With respect to whether or not he's contagious, he's probably not." pic.twitter.com/c61m28YKRq

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) October 12, 2020