Senator Ron Johnson confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing focused on the federal government's response to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Johnson referenced Dr. Fauci’s August 29, 2021 televised interview in which Fauci stated there was no evidence that ivermectin was effective against COVID‑19.
On the same day, Johnson presented a compilation of studies indicating ivermectin efficacy rates of 60 % to 70 %, arguing that contrary evidence existed at the time of the interview.
He further questioned whether Fauci had been involved in FDA actions that limited access to ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, suggesting those actions were intended to secure emergency use authorization for mRNA vaccines.
Dr. Fauci declined to answer, stating that, on counsel’s advice, he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.
Analyses of more than 200,000 patients across 106 randomized controlled trials and observational studies have reported that ivermectin reduced mortality by roughly 47 % and hospitalization by 34 %.
The aggregated data also showed a 62 % lower risk of early disease progression, along with improvements in viral clearance and ICU admission rates.
Johnson highlighted that this body of evidence was publicly available on the day Fauci claimed there was no evidence, describing the earlier statement as demonstrably false.
