You may have noticed a sudden shift over the last couple of days. Figures who once spread hysteria far and wide are suddenly pronouncing the COVID-19 pandemic all but over. Democrat governors are, just days after attacking Glenn Youngkin for doing the same, lifting mask mandates.

What’s changed? Well, in terms of the numbers, not much. Daily deaths were nearly half what they currently are just a month ago. In regards to cases, they are down but are still higher than the peak of the Delta wave.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to paint a bleak picture in the sense that I disagree that a “return to normal” is necessary (and long overdue). I’m just pointing out that the situation is not fundamentally better at this writing than it was when the coronavirus hysterics in the White House, on CNN, and elsewhere demanded rights be crushed to “protect” the vaccinated.

For example, here’s Dr. Leana Wen, former Planned Parenthood head turned COVID-19 “expert,” completely reversing herself on mask mandates.

"The science has changed." @DrLeanaWen explains why she supports lifting some pandemic restrictions and thinks the decision to wear a mask should shift from a government mandate to an individual choice. pic.twitter.com/vaiybBBF2b

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 8, 2022

To be clear, “the science” has not changed. As RedState has chronicled, the efficacy of mask-wearing to reduce COVID-19 spread, especially in regards to cloth and surgical masks, has always been in question. Real-world results have consistently shown throughout the pandemic that mask-mandates do not work. Further, numerous studies have also shown they make little-to-no difference. That’s especially true when dealing with children, yet schools are the one place in the country where masks are still largely mandated (outside of most red states).

It’s not just Wen, though. Dr. Anthony Fauci has now proclaimed that we are exiting the “full-blown pandemic phase” of COVID-19.

“As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated. There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus,” Fauci said in a Financial Times interview published Tuesday.

Fauci said he hopes COVID-19 restrictions around the country end soon. The report noted that he agreed with the suggestion that it was likely to happen this year.

So if the numbers are worse than they were during the “full-blown pandemic phase” and the data on mask-wearing remains what it was a year ago, then what has actually changed? The answer: Politics.

You see, when it was Ron DeSantis and Glenn Youngkin (to give a more recent example) absconding from the left’s chosen COVID-19 measures, that was really bad and dangerous. Remember, we aren’t even two weeks past the absolute freak-out that occurred when Youngkin gave parents an opt-out on mask mandates in schools. That all changed when Democrat governors started to follow suit recently. Now, the administration (including Fauci) and their apparatchiks on cable news realize that they’ve got to shift or the political consequences in November will be dire.

That’s where the issue of credibility comes into play. The same people who have assured you they are apolitical experts continue to show themselves to be anything but. Instead, they conveniently shift with the political winds, realizing that if they don’t make a move, they are going to lose their power, either regarding their official positions or within the public discourse.

Yet, they should not be allowed to get away with the attempted memory-holing that is beginning. For two years, these people have ignored data, slandered normal Americans, and spit on the Constitution in order to feed their ambitions. At one point, Wen and Fauci even supported restrictions on domestic travel. They must not be allowed to gaslight their way out of what they did.