Dr. Deborah Birx on Tuesday said that medical experts failed to understand the seriousness of the coronavirus because of incomplete data coming out of China.
“I think the medical community interpreted the Chinese data as that this was serious but smaller than anyone expected,” she said. “Because I think probably we were missing a significant amount of the data.”
Birx spoke about the experts’ relationship with the data during a White House press briefing on Tuesday evening.
She acknowledged frankly that when she saw early data from China reporting only 50,000 cases of the virus among the 20 million people in Wuhan, China, and the 80 million in Hubei province, she felt that the threat was similar to that of SARS, which had 8,098 cases globally and 774 deaths.
The Swamp’s Got Another Bright Idea, and It Could End Up Hosing Every American Who Drives
SCOTUS Showdown Over Gun Suppressors Looms After Appeals Court Creates ‘Circuit Split’
WATCH: Biden appears confused about where to exit stage after Democratic gala remarks
It’s Happening: CA Revival Extends for Weeks, ‘Greatest Nights’ in Over 50 Years of Evangelist’s Crusades
Parents Sue Snapchat Alleging Its Responsibility For 12-Year-Old’s Rape
Young Americans break sharply from older Americans on China threat, new poll finds
SNAP food stamp fraud has nefarious terrorism links, top Agriculture watchdog warns Congress
Frustrated blue-collar union bosses rip socialist politicians, warn of labor exodus from Dem party
Polygamous sect leader convicted on state charges after girls found in unventilated trailer
Englishman Visits America For World Cup, Meets Trump: ‘I Now Understand The American Dream’
Mackenzie Shirilla’s appeal rejected by court after ‘The Crash’ revives ‘Hell on Wheels’ case
Judge Accepts Mother’s Claim COVID Made Her Kill Her Infant Daughter
Ukraine’s drone campaign against Russia’s energy infrastructure takes a toll, but falls short of a game changer
Congress is struggling to get its work done and a new report argues for 21st-century upgrades
Nigel Farage squirms in spotlight as British press hounds him over £5M ‘gift’ from crypto billionaire
The devastation hitting countries like Italy and Spain and South Korea gave the experts much more complete data, helping them draw models that were far more alarming.
“Let’s see if we can do much better than that,” President Donald Trump said during the briefing, pointing to the models predicting 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the United States.
Trump noted that the virus was also more contagious than expected.
“I think the one thing that nobody really knew about this virus was how contagious it was,” he said. “It’s so incredibly contagious, and nobody knew that.”
Story cited here.
