On Saturday, White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx appeared on Fox News with host Jesse Watters to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
At the beginning of the segment, Watters asked Birx about a statement made by Vice President Mike Pence regarding when the United States could begin to turn the corner.
“The vice president said the other day that Memorial Day, which is basically in a month, we will have turned the corner on this virus and will be in a much, much better place,” Watters said. “Is that your assumption as well?”
Birx replied:
We believe that both the hospitalizations, the ICU need, and frankly, the number of people who have succumbed to this disease, will be dramatically decreased by the end of May.
She continued, noting that the volume of cases “are a different issue” in light of the expansion of testing. Whereas previously, tests were prioritized to the sick, as well as front-line workers, expanded testing will likely uncover “cases that may have been and are currently circulating in the community, but maybe in that more asymptomatic or very mild state,” Dr. Birx stated.
The comments to which Watters was likely referring came when the vice president recently appeared on Geraldo Rivera’s radio show.
“I think, honestly, if you look at the trends today … I think by Memorial Day weekend, we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us, and [then] state and local officials will begin to reopen activities,” Pence said. “You’re gonna see states in the days ahead begin to do that – but the key for President Trump, for all of us, is we want to do it in a safe and responsible way. We don’t want a resurgence, and we think that the key to that is the phased approached the president outlined to the nation and to the governors last week.”
Be sure to tune in tomorrow at 9:40 for @GeraldoRivera‘s exclusive interview with Vice President and #COVID19 Task Force leader @Mike_Pence. It looks like there could be some light at the end of the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/Ur2WQ4J6JX
— Newsradio WTAM 1100 (@wtam1100) April 23, 2020
Pence made similar remarks on Thursday while speaking with radio host Rush Limbaugh.
The vice president first discussed antibody testing, therapeutics, and potential immunity:
I will tell you that our team will not be surprised to see evidence in the days ahead, particularly as these antibody tests continue to scale across America, that a large number of Americans have been exposed, contracted it, and ultimately developed the antibodies in their system to defeat it…
And it’s among the reasons why our nation, should the coronavirus reemerge at any time in the future … will be in a much better place. We’ll have new medicines called therapeutics. We’re working around the clock on vaccines. We’re deploying testing to make sure and identify, quickly contact, trace, and isolate people that have it.
But make no mistake about it: If some of those early studies hold out, there will be an awful lot of Americans in the fall and in the winter of next year that actually enjoy a degree of immunity from the coronavirus. And that will also be a bulwark against this as well.
Pence later added: “Because, as we track this data state by state, county by county, we’re getting there, Rush. And I truly do believe … I truly do believe, if current trend lines hold, that by early June we could largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us, and begin to see our nation open back up and go back to work.”
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