Perhaps no figure has ever been lauded more for less reason than Dr. Anthony Fauci. The unimpressive government bureaucrat has been at the forefront of the response to the coronavirus pandemic, and little of that response has been logical or based on science. Again today, Fauci flexed his mediocre skillset by saying the following in response to the CDC halting the distribution of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Dr. Anthony Fauci on halt of Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine:

For people who have already had the vaccine it "really doesn't mean anything. You’re OK.”pic.twitter.com/2XqlWxBUrG

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 13, 2021

Let me be frank – that makes no sense whatsoever. If the J&J vaccine is dangerous (it’s not, and the CDC’s reaction to six people out of 6.8 million is idiocy), then of course it matters for the people who’ve already gotten the shot. The entire point of the pause on the J&J vaccine was that it was causing blood clots in some tiny fraction of a fraction of people who took it. But Fauci is that guy who just says things, and he does so because he thinks it will get people to do what he wants. If that means lying about masks, for example, so be it. Scientific basis need not apply.

One of Fauci’s chief critics has been Sen. Rand Paul. The latter appeared on Neil Cavuto’s show and ripped Fauci apart on the topic of immunity.

.@RandPaul: “Dr. Fauci should be voluntarily removed from TV because what he says is such a disservice and such fear-mongering, and almost all of what he says isn’t even matched by the science of his own institute." pic.twitter.com/1ElPRknQV6

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 13, 2021

Paul has the science on his side, including statements from the CDC itself. While Fauci is out there sowing fear about needing to still lockdown and not travel after getting vaccinated, Paul points out that such advice is nonsense. Every piece of evidence we have so far says that immunity after you’ve had COVID is long-lasting. Paul also notes that we’ve seen other viruses operate in the same manner, with Spanish flu antibodies lasting 90 years in some people. Tales of reinfections are so rare as to be statistically irrelevant, and there is simply no reason to discourage people from getting vaccinated by preaching doom and gloom about reinfections and the need to wear masks in perpetuity.

As Paul goes on to say, we need a much wider breadth of scientific expertise speaking into this situation. Fauci has failed in his role, and he should be removed from his position and made to retire. His messaging is incoherent, and his advice borders on insane when compared with the data we actually have about things like immunity via infection, or the vaccine.

The way to get people to get the shot is to tell them the truth, which is that it’s safe to return to normal life. If Fauci wants to keep preaching the gospel of ineffective mask-wearing and sitting in your recliner forever despite saying that immunity is real, long-lasting, and highly effective, then he’s useless as a public voice, and he’s making things worse than they have to be.