The newest confused messaging from President Biden’s main medical advisor on the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, took back his claim that the US was no longer in the pandemic phase of COVID-19.
After Fauci told PBS the exact opposite, Biden administration officials and Fauci scrambled Wednesday to underscore that the country is still in the middle of a pandemic and that emergency measures are still needed.
“We are definitely out of the epidemic phase in this nation right now.” Specifically, we do not have 900,000 new infections every day, tens of thousands of hospitalizations, and thousands of fatalities. We are currently at a low point. So, if you’re wondering if this country is out of the epidemic phase, the answer is yes,” Fauci said.
Fauci was singing a different song a day later, as his words made headlines across the world. “We’re in a different stage of the epidemic right now,” Fauci told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
“After a winter spike, the United States has decelerated and shifted into a more controlled phase,” Fauci said. “By no means does this suggest the epidemic is gone.”
During her regular press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked why emergency measures are still needed when the epidemic has passed.
People are still getting sick from COVID, and we have precautions in place to safeguard ourselves, according to Psaki.
It isn’t the first time the adviser has made a statement or given a proposal only to retract it hours later.
He offered a booster injection for someone to be completely vaccinated late last year, then claimed days later that the extra dosage wasn’t required to get to that position.
Fauci’s remarks come as the United States sees a slight increase in positive COVID-19 infections caused by the virus’s BA.2 subvariant. After attending numerous meals and gatherings in DC this month, hundreds of politicians, journalists, and administration officials tested positive.
However, Fauci stated earlier this month that the mutation did not appear to be linked to an increase in hospitalizations or severe illness.
