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Coronavirus Task Force Member Dr. Deborah Birx Fleshes Out Some of the Unclear Statistics We've Been Seeing
Townhall ^ | 03/20/2020 | Cortney O' Brien

Posted on 03/20/2020 9:09:55 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently shared some pretty stark statistics regarding how coronavirus will affect his state.

“We project that roughly 56 percent of our population – 25.5 million people -- will be infected with the virus over an eight week period,” he predicted, issuing a stay-at-home order.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx if we can expect those kinds of numbers nationwide on "Special Report" Thursday night. Birx was one of the leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, and was appointed as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator in 2014 under President Obama.

"This is the issue when you look at models, and then you look at what happened in China and South Korea," she said. "Certainly they didn’t have that same level of infection, but they did a lot to decrease the spread of the virus."

With more Americans now heeding the administration's social distancing guidelines, Birx says they can dramatically decrease the rate of infection.

"I think that’s why the president put out these guidelines," she added. "We know what to do now to stop the spread of the virus. I think, are we, as an American people, as a community of individuals who care for each other, willing to make this personal sacrifice to change this course of the virus so it’s not 25 million infected, it’s not 5 million infected, but maybe 50,000 to 150,000 infected. That’s the possibility that we hold in our hands."

Baier asked Dr. Birx to address another disturbing number. A new report from The Washington Post showed that younger adults make up nearly 40 percent of coronavirus hospitalizations in the U.S. But the doctor said a closer look at the data tells her that headline is a bit misleading.

Because they had so few cases to consider, the experts lumped 20-year-olds into the 55-54 category.

"So in my mind that’s not all young people," Birx reasoned.

"If you start disaggregating again, if you look at the Italian data, if you look at all of the other data around the world, children and people under 19 have done very well," she continued. "That doesn’t mean they don’t get seriously ill, but they have done well. The data that we have right now for individuals between 20 and 54 is so limited it was grouped together to say 40 percent. But if you look between 20 and 44, it’s 20 percent. So then you have to ask yourself how many people are really between 20 and 30."

There are a few other unclear statistics regarding how long Americans can expect their daily lives to be disrupted, or, more accurately, put on hold. We first heard two weeks, some health officials have predicted eight weeks, and President Trump said at a recent press conference we may not return to normal life until July or August. Dr. Birx didn't confirm any of those timelines, only noting that the White House will "re-evaluate on day 14."

One final, encouraging stat for you. Dr. Birx encouraged viewers to go to the Johns Hopkins dashboard, which has been tracking recoveries.

"And you can see that most of the individuals from China have fully recovered, at about a 96 percent rate," she said. "And if you were outside of Wuhan, about a 99 percent rate."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; coronavirus; covid19; deborahbirx; gavinnewsom; statistics

1 posted on 03/20/2020 9:09:56 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Is it me or are we seeing a pattern here?
Mayors and governors of large rat cities opening up the jails, banning gun and ammunition sales, announcing that they will not arrest for robbery,and vandalism aka looting,
testing their authority right down to lockdown.
Seems as though they are assisting in the demise of this country


2 posted on 03/20/2020 9:25:01 AM PDT by ronnie raygun (nicdip.com)
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To: SeekAndFind

Watching press conference. Media is not going to give up on whipping up maximum fear. Every time Trump tries to convey calm and optimism, the media become intent on not letting it stand. Totally worthless media. They are of completely useless when it comes to informing the country of anything.


3 posted on 03/20/2020 9:42:53 AM PDT by Sir Bangaz Cracka (Slamming dat white cracka'a head into dat sidewalk causin he be scared)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Coronavirus Task Force Member Dr. Deborah Birx Flashes Us Some Flesh ... Unclear What We’ve Been Seeing


4 posted on 03/20/2020 10:06:28 AM PDT by campaignPete R-CT (Committee to Re-Elect the President ( CREEP ))
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To: SeekAndFind

Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html


5 posted on 03/20/2020 10:08:02 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
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To: Sir Bangaz Cracka

It’s a capitalist economy...fear sells clicks and viewership...stupid and unnecessary, but is what it is...


6 posted on 03/20/2020 10:08:39 AM PDT by ripnbang ("An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man, a subject.")
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To: SeekAndFind
Because they had so few cases to consider, the experts lumped 20-year-olds into the 55-54 category.


7 posted on 03/20/2020 10:21:40 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: ripnbang

Seems like it was just a wee bit different when their God was President...but, that’s just me.


8 posted on 03/20/2020 2:39:20 PM PDT by Sir Bangaz Cracka (Slamming dat white cracka'a head into dat sidewalk causin he be scared)
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