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.
Growing Number of Conservatives Turn on DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin Over Soft ‘Immigration Reform’ Rhetoric
FIRST ON FOX: Trump to open direct line with military families in ground-up readiness push
Outrage over noncitizens allegedly voting in elections ignites probe into Garden State Dems
To Secure AG Job, Blanche Kills off Anti-Weaponization Fund Designed to Compensate Victims of Gov’t Witch Hunts, Like Most J6ers
Nancy Guthrie ransom notes release follows Unabomber ‘precedent’ that cracked case, expert says
SEE IT: Dashcam shows Florida trooper chasing alleged street takeover suspect at 140 mph
Chris ‘Fredo’ Cuomo Tries Playing Tough Guy for Anthony Fauci, Gets Nuked By Social Media
WNBA Head Coach Protests Sophie Cunningham with ‘Trans Kids’ Shirt During Game
Trump can declare Iran victory now and withdraw troops, former counterterror official argues
Races to watch in Michigan as establishment Democrats face off against challenges on their left flank
Top Trump ally warns super PAC bankrolled by Dem billionaire is meddling in his GOP primary
Trump v. Smithsonian: A timeline of how the White House fight over ‘woke’ history unfolded
First showdown in race for Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat puts GOP hopefuls to the test
Todd Blanche moves closer to confirmation after rescinding $1.8B fund
Deadliest animal in every US state revealed, from moose and bears to dogs
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.
