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.
Trump says he will block US-Canada Bridge unless Canada negotiates on trade
No More Super Bowls for California – Seahawks QB Will Reportedly Owe Money for Winning a Ring Thanks to State’s Insane Tax Laws
Jeffries accuses Republicans of ‘voter suppression’ over bill requiring voter ID, proof of citizenship
US Forces Board Vessel ‘Operating in Defiance’ of Trump’s Quarantine: ‘It Ran, and We Followed’
Why the NFL doesn’t care about Bad Bunny MAGA backlash
Hagerty urges FCC to punish Verizon over release of Senate phone data
Turning Point issues major endorsement in critical Senate race as Trump hints at weighing in
Breaking: GOP Rep. Alleges Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show Was ‘Illegal,’ Moves for ‘Dramatic’ FCC Action Against NFL and NBC
Maryland high school locked down after shooting leaves one person injured
Docs Reveal Vile Things Leftists Said to Children During Cities Church Riot
California jewelry store burglar breaks in from roof, owner threatens to leave Los Angeles
Republicans Introduce OMAR Act to Deal With Corruption in Congress
The cost of this grocery staple is nearing record highs — and Americans can’t get enough
Judge says Abrego Garcia Supreme Court ruling may shape Venezuelan deportation case
Florida Poaches Yet Another Juggernaut California Business as Economic Red Shift Continues
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.
