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.
Iceland votes on resuming EU membership talks as Trump’s push for neighboring Greenland looms over debate
Retired Port Authority officers tell Mamdani, Hochul to stay away from Ground Zero on 9/11
Former California councilman’s corruption unmasked after FBI finds cash buried in backyard
El-Sayed’s Demeaning Usha Vance Comments Set Stage for Major Backfire with Key Demo
Mississippi mayor argues against lowering flag for Dolly Parton after her death
Obama Judge Once Again Orders Postal Service To Defy Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Executive Order
Dems face uphill battle in challenge to Georgia Congressional map under new SCOTUS rules
Fauci’s Gov’t Division Worked Hand in Glove with the CIA: Docs
Abdul El-Sayed peppered with questions on Hasan Piker link, fracture with Jewish Dems at Michigan convention
UN Told Merchant Ships Not to Arm Themselves Against Pirates as Piracy Escalates
NYC parolee accused of killing 2 in 48-hour robbery spree hauled in after manhunt, cops say
Seneca Nation leader calls Trump’s Lake America renaming ‘unpresidential,’ demands reversal
Video: Parent Trips Youth Football Player Who Was Headed for a Touchdown
Beer bandits swipe PBR truck hauling 50,000 cans in California, leaving brand pleading for help
Dem House hopeful’s delayed disclosure reveals mystery payments from Soros-linked groups
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.
