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Scott Atlas

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Doctor

The Resume

    (July 5, 1955- )
    Born in Chicago, Illinois
    Professor of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center (1998-2012)
    Served on the White House Coronavirus Task Force (August 10-November 30, 2020)

Why he might be annoying:

    His expertise is in radiology, not public health or infectious diseases.
    He frequently expressed doubts that masks were effective in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.
    He inaccurately said, ‘Children almost never transmit the disease.’
    He recommended limiting coronavirus testing only to people with symptoms of the disease, even though 40% of people infected by the virus become asymptomatic carriers (they show no symptoms but can still transmit the virus).
    He recommended adopting a ‘herd immunity’ approach to COVID-19, although epidemiologists estimated that achieving herd immunity would require 70% of the population to contract the virus, resulting in hundreds of thousands of additional deaths.
    He stopped attending the Task Force meetings due to his repeated clashes with other members, most notably Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx.
    Fauci said, ‘He's a smart guy who's talking about things that I believe he doesn't have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn't make any sense.’
    His lawyer threatened to sue after 78 former colleagues at Stanford Medical School signed an open letter criticizing him for ‘undermin[ing] public health authorities and the credible science that guides effective public health policy.’
    After his resignation, he complained, without any deliberate irony, ‘Science has been politicized, and it’s very, very dangerous.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He edited a standard textbook on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
    He was senior health care advisor for the presidential campaigns of Rudy Giuliani (2008) and Mitt Romney (2012).
    Donald Trump said, ‘He has many great ideas.’
    He correctly predicted that Trump would make a ‘full and rapid recovery’ from COVID-19.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 13 Votes: 76.92% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 167 Votes: 52.69% Annoying