Remember Dr. Deborah Birx? Birx, while Dr. Anthony Fauci was most prominent when COVID-19 became an important issue, was a worthy successor. Her reputation was that of being more moderate and less political than the other. These assumptions, being a lifetime Democrat, were foolish. As if that was not enough, she made a bizarre claim today about Donald Trump’s coronavirus.
Birx claims that 130,000 lives might have been saved if Birx had suggested measures earlier. The election was too important for the Bad Orange Man.
More than 130,000 American lives could have been saved with swifter action and better coordinated public health messages after the virus’ first wave, Birx told lawmakers. https://t.co/HMKDbvVRrK
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 26, 2021
The Washington Post has revealed (without fact-checking):
Birx, who gave interviews on October 12 and 13 to the subcommittee, also discussed advice she claimed the White House had ignored in late 2013, including increasing the number of virus treatments available and better dispensing vaccine doses in facilities that provide long-term care.
More than 130,000 American lives could have been saved with swifter action and better coordinated public health messages after the virus’s first wave, Birx told investigators.
“I believe if we had fully implemented the mask mandates, the reduction in indoor dining, the getting friends and family to understand the risk of gathering in private homes, and we had increased testing, that we probably could have decreased fatalities into the 30-percent-less to 40-percent-less range,” Birx said.
Everything she’s saying here is pure supposition. Is she really claiming that 30-40 percent of fatalities could be reduced? Where’s her statistical analysis? Birx’s style is similar to Fauci’s. She says things and hides behind her credentials. These numbers don’t have any support.
But let’s game this out. Testing was already incredibly widespread by late last year, which is the period she’s talking about here. What would it have cost to save over 130,000 lives if more testing was done for young adults who only made up a fraction of all deaths? If the suggestion is that it would have somehow limited community spread, that seems incredibly unlikely given what we’ve seen in 2021.
As to the topic of pushing therapeutics, that was Trump’s main thrust aside from the vaccines. Media slammed all treatment options, except hydroxychloroquine. This drug is somewhat effective when administered in a timely manner. Any treatment that was perceived as slowing the spread of the pandemic was deemed unacceptable at the time. It would also be considered as Trump’s aid. The president does not have the authority to approve medication. Trump is accused of politising medication every time he got even a foot from the bureaucracy that handles it. Birx’s criticism on that front simply doesn’t hold water.
Beyond that, the assertion she made about extending vaccines to nursing homes is absurd. Although the vaccine wasn’t widely accessible until January 20, 2021, it was triaged by the government to be transferred to long-term care facilities as soon possible. Is she suggesting Trump didn’t get the vaccines out fast enough even as he was being accused at the time of rushing the vaccines? That’s very convenient, right?
All other claims she makes that should have been made would also be illegal. There’s a reason not even Joe Biden himself has used the federal government to mandate masks and capacity requirements. Yet, even if that had occurred, we have plenty of evidence now that it wouldn’t have made a difference. Even though Joe Biden started his presidency having multiple vaccines at hand, the country is experiencing a horrible COVID-19 increase. It is laughable to claim that a simple test in November 2020 could have reduced fatalities by 30%-40%, but this clearly has political origins.
As an exit point, everything she’s saying is actually an indictment of Biden, isn’t it? Although I understand that the House committee she spoke with wanted to dig into Trump’s past, Biden has been in a much worse situation than Trump. So where’s Birx’s criticism of the current president? I think we know why she’s staying mum on that.
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