Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci Warns Against 'False Narrative' Over Death Rates While Trump Says U.S. Is In A 'Good Place'
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that Americans shouldn't take comfort in the dropping death rate among coronavirus patients in the US even as President Donald Trump touts the trend as evidence of a successful response to the virus. "It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death," Fauci said during a live stream press conference with Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, a Democrat. "There's so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus, don't get yourself into false complacency." (LeBlanc, 7/7)
鈥淏y allowing yourself to get infected because of risky behavior, you are part of the propagation of the outbreak,鈥 [Fauci] said. 鈥淭here are so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus. Don鈥檛 get yourself into false complacency.鈥 (7/7)
President Trump broke with top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Tuesday by saying the U.S. is in a 鈥済ood place鈥 in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Greta Van Susteren聽of聽"Full Court Press"聽questioned the president on how to 鈥渞econcile鈥 Fauci鈥檚 recent warnings about the U.S.鈥檚 handling of the coronavirus with other 鈥渆ncouraging news鈥澛爏uch as the 鈥減ossibilities of a vaccine coming out.鈥 鈥淲ell, I think we are in a good place,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淚 disagree with him. Dr. Fauci said don鈥檛 wear masks, and now he says wear them." (Coleman, 7/7)
"We've done a good job," the President said. "I think we are going to be in two, three, four weeks, by the time we next speak, I think we're going to be in very good shape." The President's comments come after Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, had said Monday that the status of the coronavirus pandemic in the US is "really not good." (LeBlanc, 7/7)
While the Covid-19 mortality rate may be on the decline, the nearly 3 million cases and ICUs at capacity show the US is still in the grips of a pandemic with no signs of slowing. "It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned in a press conference Tuesday with Sen. Doug Jones, an Alabama Democrat. "There's so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus, don't get yourself into false complacency." (Holcombe, 7/8)
Also 鈥
The Trump administration鈥檚 covid-19 response coordinator acknowledged Tuesday that the country was not prepared for the spread of the disease among young Americans 鈥 a key factor in recent spikes of infection across several states. On a video conference hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank, Deborah Birx, the physician who oversees the White House pandemic response, said leaders in states that were not hard-hit early on 鈥渢hought they would be forever spared through this,鈥 and when they reopened their economies, they didn鈥檛 expect a surge in cases spurred by a cohort of mostly millennials. (Shammas, Taylor, Denham, Kornfield, Thebault, Brice-Saddler, Sonmez, Knowles and Shepherd, 7/7)
Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said cases are spiking in some parts of the country because states 鈥渟tepped on the gas鈥 while reopening.聽Birx told the "Wharton Business Daily"聽podcast on Tuesday that while states in the Northeast are experiencing a "slight uptick," their situations are much more controlled now than states in the South, which opened much more abruptly.聽(Moreno, 7/7)