National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Center for Health Equity Dr. Chris T. Pernell shouted down conservative podcaster Ben Ferguson on Wednesday during a panel discussion about COVID-19.
The House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released its report in December 2024 detailing how the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) allowed the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to interfere with school reopening guidance and parrot false statements about masking and vaccines. As Ferguson pointed out the CDC’s errors after “CNN NewsNight” host Abby Phillip claimed Florida’s end to vaccine mandates would “pull the rug” from children, Pernell began cutting him off.
“Two things. One, they’re not outlawed. That’s good. The parents are going to decide. Two, there’s a cause and effect, and the CDC lied to us about COVID, and they lied a lot. They lied about masks in schools,” Ferguson said, with Pernell interrupting by repeatedly saying, “Not true.”
“They lied about distancing. They lied about the efficiency or the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine,” Ferguson continued, with Pernell again saying, “Not true.”
WATCH:
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Select Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released an interim report in May that said the Biden administration ignored early warning signs for myocarditis and pericarditis related to the COVID-19 vaccines. The coronavirus pandemic subcommittee’s report stated that the vaccines did not stop the transmission or spread of COVID-19, despite promises from officials.
“They said that distancing — wait, wait. Did they — did they not lie about the effectiveness of a mask?” Ferguson asked Pernell, who responded by claiming, “Yes, if you talk about certain types of masks. If we’re looking at high-quality masks … [N95] masks, those masks actually prevent infections because — look, this is the way science works. Science works that as you get data, the type of communication that you give will improve. But you can’t say the CDC lied.”
After a back and forth, Phillip jumped in on behalf of Pernell, whose website describes her as an “Apostle of Public Health” and highlights her work on a New Jersey committee studying reparations..
“If you’re saying things that are not accurate, I do think it’s fair for her to counter that,” Phillip said, with Ferguson retorting, “CDC said that masking was effective and worked when they knew internal documents said and the emails came out that it didn‘t work. True or false? Six-foot distancing, true or false? The CDC say —”
“Misinformation, folks. You’re seeing it in action,” Pernell claimed, with Ferguson responding, “They said it was going to stop the spread in two weeks.”
After Pernell and Phillip ganged up on Ferguson, he got a chance to respond.
“There’s a cause and effect. The American people don’t trust this CDC for the reason I said. You may not like that. You may not like [that] the American people believe that,” Ferguson said. (RELATED: Scott Jennings Battles Entire CNN Panel Over Whether Saying Men Can Get Pregnant Is ‘Politicization’ Of Science)
After additional back and forth, during which Ferguson and Pernell clashed over Ivermectin, Phillip again intervened.
“Okay. Ben, are you really going to argue with the doctor about this?” Phillip asked, with Pernell chiming in, “Thank you. A doctor who is helping to save lives and a safety net institution.”
“We all listened to the doctors during COVID. You guys screwed us and we failed miserably. You lied about a vaccine —” Ferguson said before Phillip interrupted, saying, “I just want to move on — hold on one second. I just want to move on because I want to let other people join the conversation.”
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