The Washington Post has several takeaways/ quotes from this morning's testimony by Dr. Anthony Fauci before a Senate health committee on the COVID-19 pandemic, where Fauci contradicted the "mission accomplished" happy talk coming from the Giant Toddler at yesterday's Rose Garden rally:
On "Re- Opening" Too Soon
“What I’ve expressed then and again is my concern that if some areas, cities, states or what have you jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently — my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks."
The Death Toll Is Likely Higher
"... [M]ost of us feel that the number of deaths are likely higher than that number, because given the situation, particularly in New York City, when they were really strapped with a very serious challenge to their health-care system, that there may have been people who died at home … who are not counted as it because they never really got to the hospital."
On COVID Going Away Without A Vaccine
“That is just not going to happen,” Fauci said of the notion the virus would disappear on its own. “It’s a highly transmissible virus. It is likely there will be virus somewhere on this planet that will likely get back to us.”
The head of the CDC, Trump bootlicker Robert Redfield, FDA head Stephen Hahn and dog- and- pony Trump toady Adm. Brett Giroir were also questioned, and yada yada things are good, look over there!
Credit where due: both Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar "Lamar!" Alexander and, more so, increasingly independent Utah Sen. Mitt Romney expressed appropriate skepticism about Trump's testing "mission accomplished" performance yesterday. Romney directed these comments to Giroir:
“I understand that politicians are going to frame data in a way that’s most positive politically, but of course I don’t expect that from admirals,” Romney said.
“But yesterday you celebrated that we had done more tests, and more tests per capita, even, than South Korea, and you ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak, while we treaded water during February and March,” Romney said.
“And as a result, by March 6, the US had completed just 2,000 tests, whereas South Korea had conducted more than 140,000 tests, so partially as a result of that they have 256 deaths and we have 80,000. I find our testing record is nothing to celebrate whatsoever.”That should give Trump lots to rage- tweet about for the rest of the day.
