Except they didn't say "They work, but don't buy them because the hospitals need them". Here's what they said: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-fa

Except they didn't say "They work, but don't buy them because the hospitals need them". Here's what they said: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-fauci-outdated-video-masks/fact-checkoutdated-video-of-fauci-saying-theres-no-reason-to-be-walking-around-with-a-mask-idUSKBN26T2TR https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-fauci-outdated-... At least to me, that was pretty dismissive about them. That set the tone for a very large set of people. Edit: This was US based. I do not know what other countries were saying.