Bill Maher Rants About Covid-19 Coronavirus, Here Is What He Got Wrong

Bill Maher is at it again. In the most recent episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, the host of the show ranted about the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, the segment was missing an important guest: real science.

As you can see in the following clip, Maher started off the segment claiming that “over the past year the pandemic has prompted the medical establishment, the media, and the government to take a scared straight approach, to getting the public to comply with their recommendations”:

Holy conspiracy theories, Batman. Is Maher actually suggesting that the medical establishment, media, and government are in cahoots to scare the public? Maher followed that statement with, “I get it doctors tell people lies because they don’t trust you to finish the antibiotic after your bleep starts feeling better.” Except, instead of saying bleep, Maher used a word for “penis” that begins with the letter “d” and rhymes with the word “slick.”

OK, it’s not clear why Maher may have taken antibiotics in the past, because “take this until your penis feels better” is not something that most doctors say everyday. Regardless, to suggest that all doctors “lie” simply to get you to do something is simply absurd. Remember doctors come in a wide range of personalities, qualifications, and competency, just like lawyers, managers, teachers, and yes TV talk show hosts.

Sure some doctors may not be straightforward and tell you incorrect information. Similarly some TV personalities or talk show hosts may tell people to “fat shame” more, as Maher has done previously, even though fat shaming can cause real harm, as I have covered previously for Forbes. Some TV talk show hosts (i.e., Maher on his show) may blame, of all people, Asians for the lack of diversity in Hollywood, when those of Asian-descent are largely absent from most mainstream Hollywood movies. For example, Asian Americans appear as leads in Hollywood movies such as rom-coms about as often as cats do. Some TV talk show hosts (yes, Maher) will even have as guests pediatricians who advance debunked theories about vaccines, as Nina Shapiro, MD, covered previously for Forbes.

Therefore, you shouldn’t listen to all doctors just like you shouldn’t listen to all TV personalities and talk show hosts. Quality and choosing the right doctors matter. Contrary to what Maher is suggesting, there are plenty of doctors who believe in being transparent and sticking to scientific facts whenever they can.

Speaking of facts, Maher’s rant overlooked many scientific facts. For example, as the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center shows, the U.S. has already had over 566,224 deaths and counting from the Covid-19 coronavirus. Add to that many more people who had harrowing experiences or have suffered lingering problems after recovering from the initial severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection. Telling the public such facts is not “scaring them straight,” whatever straight may mean in this case.

The countries that currently top the worldwide list for number of Covid-19 cases and deaths like the U.S., Brazil, and Russia have one thing in common. They had political leaders who didn’t take the pandemic seriously enough. Remember how Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said last March “the coronavirus question, to my mind, has been exaggerated, the destructive power of that virus” and “with my history as an athlete, if I were infected by the virus I would not have to worry. I would feel nothing or, at most, it would be a little flu or a little cold.” Later in November, he came up with “we have to stop being a country of sissies,” using a Portuguese slur against gay people.

Russia had some oopsies early on in the pandemic as well. As Anton Troianovski chronicled for The New York Times, back on March 26, 2020, a Kremlin spokesman told reporters “there is de facto no epidemic” in Russia, which would have de facto wrong. That’s why the head of Russia’s coronavirus task force, Tatyana Golikova, admitted the next month that “we objectively did not pay very much attention to how effectively the infectious disease service needs to be prepared.”

Then there’s former U.S. President and current Mar-A-Lago resident Donald Trump. Remember the number of times Trump said that the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic will “turn the corner” or “round the corner” throughout much of 2020? Well, that certainly has been one freaking gigantic corner.

Meanwhile, countries like South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Australia that took the pandemic more seriously and implemented coordinated science-based measures such as social distancing, testing, surveillance, and contact tracing have been clearly more effective at controlling the spread of the virus. This allowed such countries to return closer to normal much sooner than the U.S.

So when Maher cited a Dartmouth study that showed media coverage of the pandemic in the U.S. was more negative than media coverage in other countries, he didn’t quite mention that things have actually been worse in the U.S. than many other countries. In other words, there was indeed more bad stuff to write about in the U.S. than in other countries. That’s what happens when you lead the world in number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

While handling of the pandemic has improved since January when President Joe Biden’s administration took office, the U.S. is far from out of the woods. By allowing the virus to spread so widely last year, the U.S. has essentially dug a hole for itself the size of, well, the U.S. like a bunch of groundhogs with power drills. Therefore, it’s no surprise that news has been relatively negative in the U.S.

By the way, what is Maher himelf doing to help with the pandemic response? After all, Bruce Willis did say in the movie Die Hard, “if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. Quit being a part of the bleeping problem.” Well, Maher claiming things like “when all of our sources for medical information have an agenda to spin us” only creates more problems and hinders the pandedmic response. What is Maher suggesting people do? Listen to no one and nothing besides him? Contrary to what Maher seems to be suggesting, there are a number of medical information sources that are legit like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) websites for example and not simply designed to “spin” you.

Speaking of spin, Maher, who is not an infectious disease specialist, medical doctor, or scientist, threw in this doozy: “Sunshine is the best disinfectant and Vitamin D is the key to a robust immune system. Texas lifted its Covid restrictions recently and their infection rates went down in part because of people getting outside to let the sun and wind do their thing.” Huh? Is Maher really suggesting that sun and wind alone are the solution to the pandemic?

The Covid-19 coronavirus is not a vampire. If Maher wants to prove that sunshine is the best disinfectant then maybe he should stop washing his underwear and any of his personal items and instead just put them out in the sunshine. That should clean everything right? Sure sunshine can be helpful but it won’t kill everything, especially if the virus is already in the body.

Additionally, saying that Vitamin D is the key to a robust immune system would be like saying a window is the key to a good house. While having adequate Vitamin D levels is important for health, it alone is not going to support your immune system. Plus, there is no evidence that a healthy immune system alone will protect you against the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Finally, Maher called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) "a voracious consumer of the scientific literature." Umm, what specific evidence is there that DeSantis, who majored in history in college and then went to law school, is a "a voracious consumer of the scientific literature." And what exactly is meant by “voracious consumer.” Consuming something doesn’t necessarily connote expertise. You may consume a lot of hot dogs but still have no idea what’s really in them. A voracious consumer of basketball games isn’t necessarily qualified to play or coach in the NBA.

In fact, DeSantis has been criticized for the opposite, failing to heed science or even potentially suppressing scientific facts. “Voracious consumer of the scientific literature” is not exactly consistent with how DeSantis was described in a Washington Post article entitled, “Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump.” DeSantis has had his share of run-ins with scientists. For example, as Greg Allen described for NPR, DeSantis came under fire for the firing of Rebekah Jones. Jones was a top data scientist for the state who was tracking the coronavirus pandemic. However, as seen in this CBS News report, Jones has claimed that her firing was due to her resisting pressure to manipulate data to support the state's reopening:

And recently, YouTube removed a video of a DeSantis-hosted panel discussion for the following stated reason: “We removed this video because it included content that contradicts the consensus of local and global health authorities regarding the efficacy of masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19.” Maybe next time Maher has a major medical problem, he should see if DeSantis can take care of him.

Maher wrapped things up with "look, here's what I'm saying: I don't want politics mixed in with my medical decisions” and “if you lie to people, even for a very good cause, you lose their trust." That’s certainly true. Maybe Maher should heed some of his own advice. By lumping together all medical professionals and sources of medical information in one group and suggesting that they all are lying and have a spin agenda, isn’t Maher doing exactly that: mixing politics with medical decisions? Isn’t calling DeSantis a “voracious consumer of the scientific literature” mixing politics with medical decisions, because DeSantis is a politician not a medical doctor? Just look at what political leaders who have been more effective at handling the pandemic have done like New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. These political leaders have actually deferred to medical, scientific, and public health experts when discussing and making key pandemic decisions. Perhaps Maher can do the same when discussing Covid-19 on his show in the future.