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CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has clashed with Joe Biden’s claim that the pandemic is over — saying only that “we’re in a different place.”
Speak with ABC newsWalensky declined to agree with Biden’s statement that the pandemic is in the rearview mirror, but she did acknowledge how hospitalizations and case counts have declined thanks to the wide availability of vaccines.
Biden made his comments during his appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday.
“The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We are still working on it, but the pandemic is over. If you notice that no one is wearing masks.
“Everyone seems to be in pretty good shape and so I think it’s changing. And I think this is a perfect example of that,” Biden said as he walked around the Detroit Auto Show last week – an event that drew thousands of attendees.
The director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, declined to agree with the president’s claim that the pandemic is over, saying instead ‘we are in a different place’
Biden claimed the pandemic was finally over on Sunday during an interview with CBS 60 Minutes
The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased significantly since the start of Biden’s term, when more than 3,000 Americans died a day as improved care, drugs and vaccinations have become more widely available, but nearly 400 people a day continue to die to COVID -19 in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Director Walensky chose her words carefully during the interview: “I think when we look at the big picture, things are very different. We are in a different place. Schools are open and businesses are open. We have a lot of population immunity right now.’
However, she noted that with hundreds of Americans still dying from the virus, the death rate was still too high.
The CDC continued to monitor the emergence of new variants of concern.
Biden declared the pandemic over last week as he walked around the Detroit Auto Show — an event that drew thousands of attendees
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, pictured, was filmed getting her COVID booster shot
“We’ll be ready to step on the board,” she said.
‘We have seen it again and again’ [that] our vaccines work quite well against serious illness, hospitalization and death even when variants crop up, which is why it’s so important to go ahead and get your updated vaccine now,” Walensky encouraged.
Scientists point to emerging research suggesting that the newest omicron variant is gaining ground in the US – BA.4.6 appears to be even better at evading the immune system than the dominant BA.5.
Omicron has been around since late last year, with a series of super-portable versions that are quickly crowding each other out.
Experts say COVID will continue to cause serious illness in some people.
The COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub made a number of pandemic projections from August 2022 to May 2023, assuming that the new custom boosters that protect the newest omicron family members would be available and that a booster campaign would take place in the fall and winter. . In the most pessimistic scenario – a new variant and late boosters – they predicted 1.3 million hospitalizations and 181,000 deaths during that period.
In the most optimistic scenario – no new variant and early boosters – they predicted just over half the number of hospitalizations and 111,000 deaths.
US health officials say 4.4 million Americans have rolled up their sleeves for the updated COVID-19 booster shot.
Booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are shown earlier this week at a vaccine clinic in Vermont. Public health experts lamented President Joe Biden’s recent comment that ‘the pandemic is over’
Health experts said it’s too early to predict whether demand will match the 171 million doses of the new boosters the US has ordered for the fall.
Walsnsky has also suggested that people get their flu shot for fear of a severe flu season.
She believes up to 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 9,000 deaths could be prevented if Americans get the updated COVID booster at the same rate they normally get an annual flu shot this fall.
‘We know that in recent years some people have chosen not to get their flu shot. We’ve had less flu in recent years and probably as a result of many of the mitigating strategies we have for COVID. When that happens, we’ve lowered the population’s immunity, raising concerns that you could have a higher, greater flu challenge the following year. We can’t predict what a flu season will look like, but we’re concerned.’