I will never forget the first time I treated a patient with COVID-19.

Rounding in the hospital, I admitted a 36-year-old photographer whose only health conditions were being mildly overweight and diabetic. The day before he had been out in nature taking landscape portraits, but by the time he reached the hospital there wasn’t enough oxygen I could provide to keep him safe.

Within hours, he was intubated on a life support machine. I had heard vague reports of COVID-19 spreading in Asia, but witnessing its fast-moving devastation in front of me was horrifying.

I will never forget that experience, nor the countless COVID-19 patients I treated in the following three years of the pandemic. But it seems congressional Republicans have forgotten this time, and the 1 million Americans who died of this virus, as they tried to rewrite history and vilify Dr. Anthony Fauci during the recent Senate committee hearing led by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky.

Rewriting COVID history has, and will, cost lives

This kind of rhetoric will sow incredible distrust and skepticism of science and public health experts.

Shame on Sen. Paul, and shame on his fellow GOP colleagues........

© USA TODAY