Dr. Deborah Birx, one of the architects of the United States’ response to the coronavirus pandemic, believes the country could have avoided hundreds of thousands of deaths from the virus. Asked if earlier mitigation efforts could have staved off any of the 30,000 million COVID-19 cases and 550,000 deaths suffered in the U.S., Birx told CNN, “The first time, we have an excuse. There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge. All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially.” Birx faced criticism for failing to push back publicly against Donald Trump’s unhinged musings about the virus and for disregarding public health recommendations during holiday travel.
