Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), the Republican chief deputy whip, told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview Wednesday that House Attending Physician Brian Monahan’s “mixed signals” and “hypocrisy” on the House mask mandate surrender prove his “credibility is shot.”
The House Republican Conference met with Monahan on Wednesday after he recommended and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) revived a mask mandate in Congress’ lower chamber.
Ferguson asked Monahan several questions about the mask surrender, including:
- What kinds of masks and to what degree were they effective against the coronavirus?
- Is it responsible for allowing migrants to come across the border “unchecked” or without checking for the lambda variant of the coronavirus?
Ferguson revealed to Breitbart News the congressional physician either “could not” or refused to answer the questions or provide data to answer the Georgia conservative’s questions.
Ferguson also said Monahan kept referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, urging the return of mask mandates, even though the mask rules were based on an Indian study, using a vaccine not approved in America.
The CDC’s Scientific Brief, updated July 27, said the Indian study used vaccines not authorized for use in the United States.
The study noted:
A study from Houston, Texas observed that Delta caused a significantly higher rate of breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people compared with infections from other variants, but noted that only 6.5% of all COVID-19 cases occurred in fully vaccinated individuals. Studies from India with vaccines not authorized for use in the United States have noted relatively high viral loads and larger cluster sizes associated with infections with Delta, regardless of vaccination status. These early data suggest that breakthrough Delta infections are transmissible. Unpublished data are consistent with this, and additional data collection and studies are underway to understand the level and duration of transmissibility from Delta vaccine breakthrough infections in the United States and other settings.
Ferguson told Breitbart News that Monahan “is making recommendations off of unpublished data. There is no physician in America that would treat patients on unpublished, unproven data; that is medical malpractice. The mixed signals that Dr. Monaghan is sending to the House of Representatives and through us to America are critical. It is irresponsible.”
“The net result of this is, number one, guidance is flawed. Number two, the mixed messages may cause more Americans not to get vaccinated. And, it would be a shame if somebody died because of the hypocrisy and information that he’s put out,” Ferguson added.
Ferguson said he asked Monahan to look at the science and change his “guidance.” He noted that he came about this decision with Pelosi and not House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
McCarthy also slammed the mask guidance during a floor speech on Wednesday, citing the allegedly flawed scientific guidance behind the mask mandate.
“I think that his credibility is shot,” Ferguson said.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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