Fauci says political divisions partially to blame for the nation’s COVID death toll

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday he would have been stunned if he knew a year ago that the United States’ COVID-19 death toll would reach such devastating levels — and blamed the grim tally partially on politics. “We had such divisiveness in our country that even simple, commonsense public health measures took on a political connotation,” Fauci said on NBC’s “Today” show. The country’s top infectious disease expert said the country diverged into two distinct tribes in a year that brought more than half a million COVID-19 deaths. “If you wanted to wear a mask, you were on this side,” Fauci said....