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.
Pastor: Charlie Kirk’s graphic death was ‘traumatic’ as many Americans reconcile with loss
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the gambits to avoid a government shutdown over the next few days
Federal Reserve Finally Cuts Interest Rates, Signals It’s Just the Beginning
Charlie Kirk Told Off Donors Who Wanted Him to ‘Keep the Jesus Stuff Out of It,’ Mentor Reveals
Multiple officers involved in Pennsylvania shooting as governor rushes to York County scene
Menendez brothers’ bid for new trial rejected as killer slams judge’s decision as ‘mental gymnastics’
UK government left impotent by courts blocking deportation of illegal migrants
Incredible Reagan campaign relic for sale: $235,000
Newsom dials the rhetoric back up: ‘We’ll lose this democracy’
FLASHBACK: Mamdani labeled Kirk a ‘far-right extremist’ who should be canceled from speaking in NYC
95-Year-Old Woman Charged with Murder After Nursing Home Death
‘We Do Not Teach Victimhood’: Georgia Mentor Teaches Boys About Manhood
Utah Valley University mourns Charlie Kirk as campus reopens after assassination: ‘Extremely traumatic’
DHS blames political rhetoric for surge in assaults on ICE agents after Charlie Kirk murder
Trump Furious as Newly Released Documents Show Biden Admin Targeted Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA
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.
