Makary: We needed Fauci’s outdoor guidance 14 months ago, quit shaming the unvaccinated

Johns Hopkins Professor of Public Health Dr. Marty Makary criticized federal health experts for being late to consider the safety of outdoor activities during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as folks who collectively “shame” people who choose not to take the COVID-19 vaccine — in an interview on “Your World.”

MAKARY: We need to move back to the outdoors and what the CDC doesn’t realize [the] alternative to restrictions outdoors is where people sit around indoors where there is a greater risk of people not only getting COVID but sedentary lifestyle and other health problems. We need to encourage as many activity outdoors. CDC once again is too late, there’s too little here. They are pushing this guidance out three weeks before summercamps start. 

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I think they are afraid of being wrong. I think there is a lot of groupthink to be very frank. I think we should have told people early on when we told them to stay at home we should have told them to get outside. The number one risk factor for being hospitalized is being overweight. When people stay indoors, guess what? They gain 15 pounds on average. So, this is just talking in general terms. We needed this a year and two months ago.

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MAKARY: If they want to get serious about [vaccine] hesitancy pivot quickly those vaccines sites to walk-ins. … Stop shaming people who do not choose to get the vaccine. We need to respect them. Some are not getting it because they had the infection. That’s a medically reasonable idea. We need to give something for people to look forward to If you get a vaccine, you will need to have privileges once you are a month out. And finally stop talking about boosters. It’s not clear that we need it. There is no evidence to suggest that we need it. Telling people you will need a vaccine every six month is not helping right now.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW