They were bought off. Starting with the WHO and trickling down from there. Once the narrative hit the rank-and-file (at say, the CDC), they were going to "follow the science" -- even if what they were saying was a lie.

Example that popped into my mind was the HHS wanting to give kids extra credit in science for getting jabbed. That wasn't handed down from the WHO, it was just a bureaucrat brainstorming the question "how can we get more kids jabbed"?

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