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Dr. Scott Atlas resigned from the White House coronavirus task force, after 130 days on a paper in which he contradicted public health officials, spread misinformation about Covid-19’s “herd immunity” and was singled out by Twitter for claiming that the masks do not work to slow the spread of the disease that has killed thousands of Americans.
Donald Trump appointed the radiologist and member of a conservative think tank to the task force as an adviser in August. The position was expiring next week.
In a letter obtained by Fox News and dated December 1, Dr. Atlas said that he “worked hard with a singular focus: saving lives and helping Americans overcome this pandemic,” adding that he “always relied on the the latest science and evidence, without any consideration or political influence ”despite pushing false claims that undermined experts and health officials as infections continued to rise.
More than 267,000 Americans have died from a Covid-19-related illness, and more than 13.5 million Americans have been confirmed to be infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The letter claims that it had “focused on minimizing all the damage both from the pandemic and from the structural policies themselves, especially to the working class and the poor,” although it repeatedly amplified false claims about the disease, even insisting that children ” they never transmit the disease ”and opposed funding for widespread testing.
Dr. Atlas, who has been highly critical of lockdown measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, has also clashed with other members of the task force, and infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said The Washington Post last month he believes that Dr. Atlas is “a smart guy who is talking about things that I think he has no real knowledge or experience with.”
Twitter removed a post from the president’s appointee who falsely claimed that wearing masks does not help prevent transmission of the disease, and sat down for a lengthy interview with Russian state television last month, for which he later apologized, “For allowing them to take advantage of me,” he said.
His letter also acknowledged the administration of incoming President-elect Joe Biden: “I sincerely wish the new team the best as they guide the nation through these difficult and polarized times … With emerging treatments and vaccines, I remain very optimistic about that the United States will once again prosper and overcome the adversity of the pandemic and all that has entailed.
