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Pence: U.S. ‘Could Largely Have‘ COVID-19 ‘Epidemic Behind Us’ By June ‘If Current Trend Lines Hold’

   DailyWire.com
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a Coronavirus Task Force news conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, April 2, 2020.
Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images

On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence spoke with radio host Rush Limbaugh about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

After speaking about the recent protests over lockdown restrictions, as well as timing as it pertains to the reopening of the economy, Limbaugh asked Pence about new antibody tests out of California and New York suggesting promising potential immunity development.

Pence replied, noting that there may be “good news” in that “there is the highest likelihood that, if you’ve had this coronavirus in the past that you will enjoy some immunity from it in the future.”

“I saw this morning, at least it was reported that Governor Cuomo said that some of their antibody testing was showing very significant amount of people who had had the coronavirus and were not aware of it, what they call asymptomatic,” Pence stated. “What I would tell you is it’s something that we have been watching for, and frankly anticipating, for some time.”

Pence added that the administration’s “health experts have been very clear from early on, the fact that the coronavirus is three times more contagious than the flu, and the fact that, as we have done testing, we have been able to see trends that suggest that many people that have the coronavirus will have either just flu-like symptoms or no symptoms at all.”

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 then complimented the American people for following guidelines, but also asked that they keep it up.

“We urge them to continue to practice that social distancing, to continue to, you know, use the drive-thru at your local restaurant,” the vice president said. “Avoid gatherings of more than ten, listen to your state and local authorities.”

Pence concluded by offering an optimistic perspective on when the pandemic could largely be in the rear view mirror:

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.

As The Daily Wire previously reported, a recently-conducted antibody text in New York showed that a larger number of New Yorkers than previously known may have had COVID-19 and developed antibodies to it.

“More than 21% of the New York City residents given coronavirus antibody tests earlier this week tested positive, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday,” according to MarketWatch.

More antibody tests will be necessary in order to better understand the penetration of the virus into the population.

COVID-19, which originated in China’s Hubei province, has infected over 2.7 million people worldwide, and led to more than 190,700 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. More than 738,200 people have recovered.

In the United States, there have been more than 868,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and over 49,800 deaths. As of publication, 80,174 individuals have recovered from the virus in the U.S.

The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a subscriber.

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