Neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta on Monday said that he was “stunned” by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) casting doubt on the input of experts amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“When I say ‘experts’ in air-quotes, it sounds like I don’t really trust the experts, because I don’t,” Cuomo said in a press briefing Friday.
Gupta responded to those comments in an appearance on CNN’s “The Lead.”
“I’m really quite stunned that that’s what he said,” Gupta told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I’m curious to talk to him and understand [and] clarify that a bit.”
“It is true that New York has had success” in containing the pandemic, Gupta continued, but “they had terrible numbers in the spring of last year but were able to bring those numbers under control. A lot of that was because of the experts and because of carrying through on plans that sometimes are sort of hard to understand at the time but with time actually make more and more sense.”
Gupta went on to agree with Tapper’s assessment that the comments were “irresponsible,” particularly in light of the number of “people out there who are already hesitant” about taking expert advice during the pandemic.
“They don’t believe in the virus, they don’t believe in getting the vaccine, they don’t understand the value of testing,” he said. “If you start to take away some if the credence of those experts, I think that’s really, really harmful.”
The New York Times reported Monday that nine senior state health officials have left their positions, citing Cuomo’s leadership, including his failure to follow the State Department of Health’s vaccination plan, which predates the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuomo’s brother, Chris Cuomo, is a prime-time host for the network.
The Hill has reached out to Cuomo’s office for comment.