COVID deaths and infections continue to rise in the United States, with 400 people per day dying from the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus and an average of 60,000 new infections per day. Both figures are considered a drastic underestimate, as systematic daily reports have been closed in virtually all North American states.
Yet President Joe Biden continued to back up his claim that “the pandemic is over,” despite increasing deaths and widespread criticism of his comments from health experts. Biden made this claim for the first time in an interview broadcast Sunday night on the CBS “60 Minutes” newscast.
Walking with Biden through the vast lobby of the convention center in downtown Detroit, where the North American International Auto Show was taking place, Scott Pelley of CBS News asked him, “Mr. President, [este es el] The first Detroit auto show in three years. Is the pandemic over? ‘
Coincidentally, Biden replied: “The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We are still working hard on it. But the pandemic is over.” And she added, “If you look, nobody is wearing a mask. Everyone seems to be in good shape. I think it’s changing, and this is a perfect example.”
According to a report by PoliticBiden’s senior health officials learned of his comments only through social media and mainstream media headlines, leaving them in the lurch as they attempt to answer questions about his comments that resonated across the country.
Amid comments from public health experts expressing surprise and even outrage at Biden’s remarks, the White House initially downplayed their significance. During a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee with major contributors on Tuesday, Biden tried to back down, but only slightly.
Noting that “I was criticized for saying the pandemic was, in quotes, ‘over'”, he tried to change his language, admitting that many were still dying, “but basically it’s not where it was.”
He then blamed the victims for his own policy of “living with the virus”, saying the problem wasn’t the end of all social mitigation efforts, but people’s failure to get vaccinated. “Guess what?”, You said, “more than 65-80 percent of the people who died, of the 5,000 who died, have never been vaccinated, never received the booster.”
Many print services, such as that of columnist Leana Wen del Washington Postapplauded the misplaced comment supporting the COVID forever argument and the need to learn to accept SARS-CoV-2 as a fixture in our daily life.
Responding to widespread criticism and the indignation of scientists and public health experts at Biden’s irresponsible remarks, Wen wrote: “These criticisms do not undermine the case of Biden. That’s right. By many definitions, the pandemic is over. That doesn’t. it means the coronavirus is no longer causing harm; it simply signals the end of a state of emergency, as COVID has evolved into an endemic disease. ‘