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.
Here Are the States Getting the Biggest Tax Refunds
Mayor Mamdani Says Exodus From New York Is Just Your Imagination
Trump signs executive order directing FDA to review psychedelics designated as breakthrough therapy drugs
Kagan screamed so loudly at liberal ally after Dobbs leak the ‘wall was shaking,’ book claims
2 US Army soldiers in Alaska injured in bear attack during training exercise
Orange Crush festival returns to Tybee Island as police brace for 50,000 partiers after teen takeover, gunfire
UK Is Lost: After Brutal Gang Rape, Cops Turn on Angry Citizens for Refusing to Be Politically Correct About Unthinkable Crime
BBQ lovers beware: Middle East conflict might disrupt your summer plans this year
Watch: Rep. Boebert Planning Motion to Expel Ilhan Omar from Congress Over Alleged Incestuous Marriage – ‘That One’s Mine… I Have Dibs’
Boston mayor denies funding LGBTQ migrant ‘wellness’ perks after program touts up to $500 benefits
White House goes hands-off in Virginia redistricting fight, despite pressure from Speaker Johnson
Dems sidestep past ‘refuse illegal orders’ demands as they challenge Trump’s Iran war authority
Iran could use detained Americans as ‘sweetener’ in nuclear talks, ex-hostage envoy warns
Air Force Academy’s ‘CULEX’ puts thousands of cadets through realistic 24-hour combat simulation
Trump set to read Scripture from the Oval Office during ‘America Reads the Bible’ event starting Sunday
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.
