Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci Warns Against 'False Narrative' Over Death Rates While Trump Says U.S. Is In A 'Good Place'
CNN: Fauci Warns Against 'False Complacency' As Trump Touts Falling Coronavirus Death Rate
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that Americans shouldn't take comfort in the dropping death rate among coronavirus patients in the US even as President Donald Trump touts the trend as evidence of a successful response to the virus. "It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death," Fauci said during a live stream press conference with Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, a Democrat. "There's so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus, don't get yourself into false complacency." (LeBlanc, 7/7)
The New York Times: As Coronavirus Cases Top 3 Million, Fauci Warns Against Misreading A Falling Death Rate
“By allowing yourself to get infected because of risky behavior, you are part of the propagation of the outbreak,” [Fauci] said. “There are so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus. Don’t get yourself into false complacency.” (7/7)
The Hill: Trump Breaks With Fauci: US In 'Good Place' In Fight Against Virus
President Trump broke with top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Tuesday by saying the U.S. is in a “good place” in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Greta Van Susteren of "Full Court Press" questioned the president on how to “reconcile” Fauci’s recent warnings about the U.S.’s handling of the coronavirus with other “encouraging news” such as the “possibilities of a vaccine coming out.” “Well, I think we are in a good place,” Trump said. “I disagree with him. Dr. Fauci said don’t wear masks, and now he says wear them." (Coleman, 7/7)
CNN: Trump Rebukes Fauci's Coronavirus Assessment: 'I Think We Are In A Good Place'
"We've done a good job," the President said. "I think we are going to be in two, three, four weeks, by the time we next speak, I think we're going to be in very good shape." The President's comments come after Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, had said Monday that the status of the coronavirus pandemic in the US is "really not good." (LeBlanc, 7/7)
CNN: US Coronavirus: Death Rates May Be Down, But Coronavirus Cases And Hospitalizations Are Surging
While the Covid-19 mortality rate may be on the decline, the nearly 3 million cases and ICUs at capacity show the US is still in the grips of a pandemic with no signs of slowing. "It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned in a press conference Tuesday with Sen. Doug Jones, an Alabama Democrat. "There's so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus, don't get yourself into false complacency." (Holcombe, 7/8)
Also —
The Washington Post: Birx Says U.S. Underestimated Community Spread Among Young People
The Trump administration’s covid-19 response coordinator acknowledged Tuesday that the country was not prepared for the spread of the disease among young Americans — a key factor in recent spikes of infection across several states. On a video conference hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank, Deborah Birx, the physician who oversees the White House pandemic response, said leaders in states that were not hard-hit early on “thought they would be forever spared through this,” and when they reopened their economies, they didn’t expect a surge in cases spurred by a cohort of mostly millennials. (Shammas, Taylor, Denham, Kornfield, Thebault, Brice-Saddler, Sonmez, Knowles and Shepherd, 7/7)
The Hill: Birx Links Coronavirus Spikes To States That 'Stepped On The Gas' When Reopening
Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said cases are spiking in some parts of the country because states “stepped on the gas” while reopening. Birx told the "Wharton Business Daily" podcast on Tuesday that while states in the Northeast are experiencing a "slight uptick," their situations are much more controlled now than states in the South, which opened much more abruptly. (Moreno, 7/7)
