Cruz slams Fauci for playing ‘pandemic politics’ with messaging on children’s hospitalizations

In an interview with MSNBC, Fauci said that many of those children that are being hospitalized were tested for COVID while they were there, and were not admitted because of COVID-19. Having Covid when being hospitalized for a separate condition and being hospitalized as a result of the virus are not the same thing.

"And what we mean by that: If a child goes into the hospital, they automatically get tested for COVID and they get counted as a COVID-hospitalized individual, when, in fact, they may go in for a broken leg or appendicitis or something like that. So it's over counting the number of children who are, quote, hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID," Fauci said.

Cruz responded to a tweet of Fauci's interview, stating: "Now Fauci says this? Is this because pandemic politics have changed for the Biden admin?"

Fauci's interview came after a spike of children being hospitalized in the US with COVID-19 was recorded in recent days. He clarified that children are tested for Covid when they arrive at hospitals, meaning that a child who is admitted for one concern can be found to have Covid, regardless of whether or not the illness is a worry.

According to the Associated Press, during the week of December 22-28, an average of 378 children under 18 were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirus, marking a 66 percent increase from the week before.

The outlet did note though that children still represent a small number of Americans being hospitalized with COVID-19.

Cruz's comment comes after President Joe Biden received criticism for a comment given earlier this week, in which he said there is "no federal solution" to ending the pandemic.

"This gets solved at a state level….and it ultimately gets down to where the rubber meets the road and that's where the patient is in need of help, or preventing the need of help," Biden said.