Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Republican politician Ben Carson may be an actual doctor and a literal brain surgeon, but he somehow fundamentally misunderstands how sickness works, if his recent comments about the pandemic are any indication.
In an echo of former Republican President Donald Trump so dead-on it borders on parody, Carson, who for some reason was Trump's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, recently told Fox News that the U.S.'s shortage of COVID-19 tests is actually a good thing.
Why? Because it means there are fewer "positive people" with the virus who will need medical attention. That is of course not how literally anything works, let alone diseases.
So naturally, Carson's take on the situation has many people banging their heads against the wall.
See his comments below.
Dr. Ben Carson argued that it might not be "such a bad thing" that Covid tests are arriving late because "the more tests you have, the more positive people you're going to have."pic.twitter.com/9qBSt6msLf— Mediaite (@Mediaite) 1641847771
Carson's preposterous take on the pandemic came during a conversation with Fox's Martha MacCallum about Democratic President Joe Biden's plans for increasing the country's testing capacity, including sending free rapid test kits to every home in America.
But most experts agree that those kits are almost certain to arrive after the current surge in Omicron variant cases has already peaked--which Carson thinks is a good thing, for some reason. As he put it:
“It’s quite clear the tests are not going to arrive in time. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing, because the more tests you have the more positive people you’re going to have.”
No, the more tests you have the more confirmed positive people you have, Dr. Carson. Because the tests are not the infection? You probably learned this in medical school?
Carson went on to further clarify his point, which didn't help things at all.
“We need to be more measured in who we’re testing. To just go out widely and test everybody when you have a virus that is spreading this fast and you don’t have a plan to deal with it, all you’re doing is adding to the confusion.”
Carson was presumably talking about the overrunning of American hospitals with positive COVID-19 cases. But people are not admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 because they test positive. They're admitted because they're, you know, very, very sick, and sickness is not caused by testing.
Your reminder that this man is--and we cannot stress this enough--a literal brain surgeon. And if you're sitting there with your mouth hanging open at the ridiculousness of these statements, you are not alone--Twitter basically lost its collective mind.
Ah yes: I forgot the virus is activated by testing, not that testing determines whether the virus is in you/active etc. This man is a brain doctor person?https://twitter.com/mediaite/status/1480642984689479681\u00a0\u2026— Tauriq Moosa (@Tauriq Moosa) 1641854982
\u201cI recommend not testing for cancer. It\u2019ll end it!\u201d\n\n\u201cDr\u201d Ben Carson— Demosthenes (@Demosthenes) 1641914106
Why is everything so dumb?https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ben-carson-covid-testing-shortage-not-bad-1282326/\u00a0\u2026— Lisa Tozzi (@Lisa Tozzi) 1641856621
Earlier today I finally put duct tape over my car\u2019s fuel gauge display because every time I got close to running out of gas, it would indicate that the tank was almost empty. Lame!\n\nSuch a simple fix! I\u2019m gonna $ave a lot of $ by not going to the gas station— @WorldsMostHumble (@@WorldsMostHumble) 1641849810
Ben Carson uses trump\u2019s sentiment saying the Covid test shortage isn\u2019t bad since we will have fewer Covid cases\n\nGreat logic. So let\u2019s cancel all republican audits and find less voter fraud— sarah flexghost (@sarah flexghost) 1641914885
And fewer breast exams will reduce breast cancer\n\nFewer hospitals will mean fewer deaths\n\nCan we give him the hook soon\nBen Carson Echoes Trump, Says Covid Test Shortage Isn\u2019t \u2018Such a Bad Thing\u2019 Because It Means Fewer \u2018Positive People\u2019 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ben-carson-covid-testing-shortage-not-bad-1282326/\u00a0\u2026 via @RollingStone— Justice4all (@Justice4all) 1641905691
This is a doctor.https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ben-carson-echoes-trump-says-231129165.html\u00a0\u2026— \u26a1\ufe0fJ \u26a1\ufe0f (@\u26a1\ufe0fJ \u26a1\ufe0f) 1641861718
Dr Ben Carson says testing shortages are fine. \n\nThese people aren\u2019t stupid, they\u2019re just fools who really don\u2019t care who dies as long as it\u2019s not them or anyone they personally care about.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ben-carson-echoes-trump-says-covid-test-shortage-isnt-such-a-bad-thing-because-it-means-fewer-positive-people/ar-AASDOws?li=BBnb7Kz\u00a0\u2026— BlackXtian (@BlackXtian) 1641876081
And if cops stopping giving breathalyzers, there would be fewer DUIs reported. "Ben Carson Echoes Trump, Says Covid Test Shortage Isn\u2019t \u2018Such a Bad Thing\u2019 Because It Means Fewer \u2018Positive People\u2019" https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ben-carson-echoes-trump-says-231129165.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr\u00a0\u2026 via @Yahoo— Julie Ann Dawson (@Julie Ann Dawson) 1641918452
Still a dummy after all these years\n\nBen Carson Reacts to Covid Test Shortage: 'Maybe That's Not a Bad Thing' https://mediaite.com/a/xnmdx\u00a0 via @mediaite— Ray Nieves #StayHome #WearAMask #GetVaccinated (@Ray Nieves #StayHome #WearAMask #GetVaccinated) 1641855212
We could eradicate every disease on the planet, if we would just stop testing for them. Why can't everyone see this!?https://twitter.com/Mediaite/status/1480642984689479681\u00a0\u2026— Tony (@Tony) 1641915411
Carson comments are basically an exact replication of former President Trump's take on testing in the early days of the pandemic. Trump took his anti-testing stance so far that he actually ordered officials to slow down testing initiatives so that the U.S.'s astonishingly high case numbers--among the worst in the world during 2020--would decrease.
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