Former White House COVID response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should prioritize transparency in reforming the agency after the pandemic.
Appearing on CBS&#8217;s &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; Sunday, Dr. Birx said that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-warns-cdc-has-a-bigger-motive-behind-its-shake-up">CDC</a> should focus on sharing its data with the American people in a way they can understand and work with the private sector to better collect information.
Birx first criticized the CDC for &#8220;trying to create a parallel data system&#8221; apart from hospitals.
&#8220;[I]n March of 2020, all of our data that I used to warn Americans of who was at risk for severe disease, hospitalization, and death came from our European colleagues,&#8221; she said. &#8220;That in itself should be an indictment of our system.&#8221;
&#8220;Secondly, reporting was coming in extraordinarily slow from hospitals through a system that CDC had created. And I know this created controversy, but for three months, I asked the CDC to fix its system and develop a partnership with clinics and hospitals, and laboratories, and they wouldn’t. And so that’s why I asked all the hospitals to start reporting, and they did. And so I think sometimes we hold ourselves back.&#8221;
Birx added that the private sector &#8220;is willing to help&#8221; the federal government, and more collaboration is necessary.
She went on to express her frustration over the CDC&#8217;s failure to adequately relay the information that led to its recommendations to the American people.
&#8220;I’ve asked them over and over again, if you’re going to issue guidance like the five days and return to work in a mask, show the data transparently that you utilized to come to that decision, because I think when Americans saw that it was a very small number, that they would have really reconsidered those guidelines,&#8221; said Birx. &#8220;Americans are smart, they can process the information. Give them all of the data.&#8221;
&#8220;The way you rebuild public trust is be transparent,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Better data, better accountability, better transparency. But they also have to believe, and this gets to the culture piece, people can understand complicated issues. It’s your job as a public health official. That’s what public in public health means. Your job is to take complex situations and data and create graphs so that people can understand why you are making those recommendations.&#8221;

Dr. Deborah Birx

Dr. Birx On CDC Reform: ‘The Way You Rebuild Public Trust Is To Be Transparent’

Dr. Birx On CDC Reform: 'The Way You Rebuild Public Trust Is To Be Transparent'

COVID-19

Face The Nation

Former top White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Deborah Birx says the coronavirus &#8220;came out of the box ready to infect.&#8221;
There has been much speculation about the origin of the virus that has killed more than 6.3 million people worldwide, <a href="https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">according</a> to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The virus emerged in Wuhan, China, with speculation that the virus could have emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where scientists were researching vaccines for other coronaviruses.
Birx, an infectious diseases expert who served under former President Donald Trump, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11021329/Trump-aide-claims-Covid-came-box-ready-infect.html">told</a> the Daily Mail on Sunday that COVID-19 &#8220;came out of the box ready to infect&#8221; when it first emerged in December 2019.
COVID &#8220;was already more infectious than flu when it first arrived,&#8221; she said, noting that most viruses take months or even years to become highly infectious to humans.
The doctor said that means one of two things: Either COVID was &#8220;an abnormal thing of nature,&#8221; or Chinese scientists at the Wuhan lab were &#8220;working on coronavirus vaccines,&#8221; and they either caught the virus and spread it or it somehow escaped.
&#8220;It happens, labs aren’t perfect, people aren’t perfect, we make mistakes and there can be contamination,&#8221; she said, noting that because the virus is asymptomatic in some people, &#8220;someone working in the lab with one of the strains could’ve caught it and not known they had it.&#8221;
Birx said the COVID-19 virus showed signs of being experimented on in a lab. &#8220;In laboratories you grow the virus in human cells, allowing it to adapt more. Each time it passes through human cells it becomes more adapted,&#8221; she said.
She also said China could have reduced deaths worldwide if it had alerted health leaders that the virus can spread asymptomatically. &#8220;China was implying that they were containing it, but asymptomatic spread cannot be contained without testing,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;I think the world lost several months of preparation because we were thinking there wasn’t that level of human-to-human spread when there clearly was,&#8221; the doctor told the Mail.
Although most mainstream news outlets immediately labeled speculation that the virus came from the Wuhan lab as a conspiracy theory, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. immunologist, eventually conceded that&#8217;s a possibility.
Asked during a House hearing in May 2021 whether the virus originated naturally, Fauci <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/555057-fauci-bombshell-not-convinced-covid-19-developed/">said</a>: &#8220;I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened.&#8221;
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Climate Of Anxiety And Changing Routines In America

Birx: COVID-19 ‘Came Out Of The Box Ready To Infect’

Former Trump Coronavirus Adviser: COVID-19 'Came Out Of The Box Ready To Infect'

China

COVID

Pandemic

An email included in a recent dump from the House Select Committee revealed that Dr. Deborah Birx, who served on former President Donald Trump&#8217;s Coronavirus Task Force, had serious reservations about some of the positions the White House wanted to explore at the time.
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Wow. <a href="https://t.co/8EaVOA2TbL">https://t.co/8EaVOA2TbL</a> <a href="https://t.co/e82C51ZCqQ">pic.twitter.com/e82C51ZCqQ</a>
— Mattathias Schwartz (@Schwartzesque) <a href="https://twitter.com/Schwartzesque/status/1473358574285991938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I can’t be part of this with these people who believe in herd immunity and believe we are fine with only protecting the 1.5M Americans in LTCF and not the 80M + with co-morbidities in the populations included the unacceptable death toll among Native Americans, Hispanics and Blacks,&#8221; <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/birx-suggests-trump-secretly-fed-covid-data-carson-i-never-saw-that-people-finding-ways-to-stir-up-the-problems/">Birx</a> wrote in an email dated August 25, 2020 — which was sent to former CDC Director Robert Redfield, former FDA Director Stephen Hahn, as well as former Vice President Mike Pence&#8217;s chief of staff Marc Short.
&#8220;With our current mitigation scenario we end up near 300K by Christmas and 500K by the time we have vaccine – close to the 600K live lost with 1918 Flu,&#8221; Birx continued. &#8220;We have worked to find a path that is the least disruptive to the economy but moves us under R1 and saves both the economy and American lives.&#8221;
<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/birx-after-breaking-own-covid-guidance-my-parents-were-depressed-and-isolated/">Birx</a> then noted that part of the reason Americans needed to take measures such as wearing face masks and social distancing was the fact that obesity was a bigger problem in the United States than in places like <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/swedens-king-denounces-countrys-relaxed-covid-19-measures-we-have-failed/">Sweden</a>, where such measures had been relaxed.
&#8220;Without masks and social distancing in public and homes we end up with twice as many deaths – we are a very unhealthy nation with a lot of obesity etc — we will never look as good as even Sweden due to our co-morbidities,&#8221; Birx explained. &#8220;These are people who believe that all the curves are predetermined and mitigation is irrelevant – they are a fringe group without grounding in epidemics, public health or on the ground common sense experience.&#8221;
Birx went on to say that she was even willing to add an out-of-town trip to her schedule to give the White House cover for the fact that she would not be part of such a briefing if the focus was on herd immunity rather than mitigating measures.
&#8220;I am happy to go out of town or whatever gives the WH cover for Weds. Perhaps do Annapolis and meet with Hogan. Fauci and I could probably do it together — I am open to options,&#8221; she concluded.
The event Birx was declining to participate in was touted as a &#8220;medical experts roundtable&#8221; and was set to feature remarks from Dr. Scott Atlas.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Birx is declining to participate in this event <a href="https://t.co/s339lDyOaD">pic.twitter.com/s339lDyOaD</a>
— Mattathias Schwartz (@Schwartzesque) <a href="https://twitter.com/Schwartzesque/status/1473359207848202240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to the email, prior to introducing Atlas as the featured speaker, Trump was going to stress the importance of sheltering those who were most vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 while allowing the economy to reopen and those who were less vulnerable to get back to work and school.
&#8220;There are some politicians who are calling for unending lockdowns,&#8221; Trump was slated to say. &#8220;That is not a science-based approach — and it would inflict grave harm on our children and our entire society. Our strategy is not based on fear but the facts, the science, and the data.&#8221;

Members Of White House Coronavirus Task Force Hold Briefing

‘I Can’t Be Part Of This’: Private Emails Reveal Dr. Birx Balked At Trump Pressers Over Herd Immunity

Former President Donald Trump unloaded on Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in a statement on Monday evening in response to Fauci appearing to take credit for the rapid development of vaccines by the United States.
&#8220;When I saw what happen In New York City almost over running of our health care system, it was like Oh my goodness,&#8221; Fauci said in a CNN interview that aired on Sunday night. &#8220;And that&#8217;s when it became very clear that the decision we made on January the 10th to go all out and develop a vaccine may have been the best decision that I&#8217;ve ever made with regard to an intervention as the director of the institute.&#8221;
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Fauci credits himself, not Trump, for the rapid rollout of Covid vaccines: “It may have been the best decision that I’ve ever made&quot; <a href="https://t.co/CYrni6KeKA">pic.twitter.com/CYrni6KeKA</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1376547631346909187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Trump slammed Fauci in a statement and also took a shot at former White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinate Dr. Deborah Birx, who suggested during the same CNN program that the Trump administration failed to reduce the number of COVID-19 deaths that occurred after the first wave hit the U.S. last Spring.
Trump called Fauci and Birx &#8220;two self-promoters&#8221; who were &#8220;trying to reinvent history to cover for their bad instincts and faulty recommendations, which I fortunately almost always overturned.&#8221;
&#8220;We developed American vaccines by an American President in record time, nine months, which is saving the entire world,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We bought billions of dollars of these vaccines on a calculated bet that they would work, perhaps the most important bet in the history of the world. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx moved far too slowly, and if it were up to them we’d currently be locked in our basements as our country suffered through a financial depression. Families, and children in particular, would be suffering the mental strains of this disaster like never before.&#8221;
Trump noted that Fauci was &#8220;said he was an athlete in college but couldn’t throw a baseball even close to home plate, it was a &#8216;roller,'&#8221; and that he &#8220;tried to take credit for the vaccine, when in fact he said it would take three to five years, and probably longer, to have it approved.&#8221;
&#8220;Dr. Fauci was incapable of pressing the FDA to move it through faster. I was the one to get it done, and even the fake news media knows and reports this,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;Dr. Fauci is also the king of &#8216;flip-flops&#8217; and moving the goalposts to make himself look as good as possible. He fought me so hard because he wanted to keep our country open to countries like China. I closed it against his strong recommendation, which saved many lives. Dr. Fauci also said we didn’t need to wear masks, then a few months later he said we needed to wear masks, and now, two or three of them. Fauci spent U.S. money on the Wuhan lab in China—and we now know how that worked out.&#8221;
Trump called Birx &#8220;a proven liar with very little credibility left,&#8221; and specifically highlighted how she &#8220;gave a huge mandate to the people of our Nation to not travel, and then traveled a great distance to see her family for Thanksgiving—only to have them call the police and turn her in.&#8221;
&#8220;She then, embarrassingly for her, resigned,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;Finally, Dr. Birx says she can’t hear very well, but I can. There was no &#8216;very difficult&#8217; phone call, other than Dr. Birx’s policies that would have led us directly into a COVID caused depression. She was a very negative voice who didn’t have the right answers. Time has proven me correct. I only kept Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx on because they worked for the U.S. government for so long—they are like a bad habit!&#8221;

US-politics-TRUMP-departure

Trump Unloads On Fauci After Fauci Claims Credit For Developing Vaccine In Record Time

Anthony Fauci

COVID-19 Vaccine

Donald Trump

Dr. Anthony Fauci is taking the lion&#8217;s share of credit for the rapid development of vaccines to battle COVID-19, saying it was &#8220;the best decision that I’ve ever made.&#8221;
Fauci was interviewed for a CNN special that aired Sunday night, during which he praised himself without mentioning former President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, which is widely credited for the speedy development of vaccines.
&#8220;When I saw what happened in New York City, almost overrunning of our health care systems, and that’s when it became very clear that the decision we made on January 10 to go all-out and develop a vaccine, may have been the best decision that I’ve ever made with regard to intervention as the director of the institute,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.cnn.com/health/live-news/covid-pandemic-doctors-cnn-special/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> in &#8220;COVID WAR: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out.&#8221;
The Moderna vaccine, the one Fauci himself took, was developed in conjunction with Operation Warp Speed, a public-private partnership that joined the federal government and pharmaceutical companies to create four vaccines in record time.
Trump this month said he deserves the credit for the quick development of vaccines.
&#8220;I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful &#8216;shot&#8217; for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all,&#8221; read a statement from the former president. &#8220;I hope everyone remembers!&#8221;
But the CNN program also failed to credit Trump and Operation Warp Speed. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta overlooked the Trump initiative and credited Fauci instead.
&#8220;The life-saving and record-breaking vaccines that Dr. Fauci oversaw were a giant success for &#8216;The Doctors&#8217; and for science and for the world,&#8221; Gupta said in a voiceover for the special.
Dr. Deborah Birx, who, like Fauci, repeatedly clashed with Trump, also appeared on the program, and she blamed the former president for the high death toll from COVID-19.
&#8220;I look at it this way. The first time we have an excuse,&#8221; Birx said of the first surge of cases and deaths last spring. &#8220;There were about a hundred thousand deaths that came from that original surge. All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially.&#8221;
Birx also complained about a &#8220;very uncomfortable&#8221; phone call with Trump in August after she warned about the dangers of the virus. &#8220;&#8216;It was a CNN report in August that got horrible pushback,&#8221; Brix said. &#8220;That was a very difficult time, because everybody in the White House was upset with that interview and the clarity that I brought about the epidemic,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;I got called by the president,&#8221; Birx said. &#8220;It was very uncomfortable, very direct and very difficult to hear.&#8221;
Birx led the Trump administration&#8217;s Coronavirus Task Force, but she retired after reports emerged that she had hosted three generations of her family for Thanksgiving 2020, even though she had told Americans to restrict such gatherings to &#8220;your immediate household.&#8221;

New York Yankees v Washington Nationals

‘Best Decision’: Dr. Fauci Takes Credit For COVID-19 Vaccines

Operation Warp Speed

Dr. Deborah Birx, a leader in the Trump administration&#8217;s White House coronavirus task force, suggested over the weekend that President Donald Trump was being secretly fed conflicting data on COVID-19 &#8212; data that she was never shown.
“I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-24/birx-says-trump-presented-covid-charts-she-never-made">told</a> CBS News. &#8220;So I know that someone &#8212; someone out there or someone inside &#8212; was creating a parallel set of data and graphics that were shown to the president.&#8221;
“I know what I sent up, and I know what was in his hands was different from that,” Birx added.
Former HUD secretary and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, who was involved in the Trump administration&#8217;s COVID-19 response, was <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/biden-signs-equitable-housing-order-211046797.html">asked</a> by Fox News Trace Gallagher to react to Birx&#8217;s claims.
&#8220;Why would the president be getting conflicting information, or is this the case of different perspectives, or are you buying this scenario at all?&#8221; Gallagher asked Carson on Tuesday.
&#8220;I was there basically from the beginning and I didn&#8217;t see that,&#8221; Carson responded. &#8220;But I wasn&#8217;t privy to all the things that Dr. Birx was.&#8221;
&#8220;What is troubling,&#8221; he continued, &#8220;is people are always finding ways to stir up the problems so that we take our eyes off of the real issues. We&#8217;re never gonna solve problems if we keep pointing fingers at each other and saying, you did this, and you did that, and now I must retaliate against you.&#8221;
&#8220;I mean, look what&#8217;s going on with the impeachment series,&#8221; the retired neurosurgeon noted. &#8220;It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever &#8212; the man is already out of office. And yet, we&#8217;re spending all this time and effort on that, because, &#8216;We must punish him.&#8217; And then the other side will say, &#8216;Well, we must punish you.'&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s like a bunch of third graders,&#8221; Carson mocked. &#8220;It&#8217;s so tiring.&#8221;
Birx <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-birx-defends-thanksgiving-trip-says-she-will-retire-over-backlash">announced</a> in late December that she would be retiring from her position on the White House task force after helping the Biden transition team. She made the announcement on the heels of receiving significant backlash for a Thanksgiving trip to Delaware that seemingly conflicted with advice she gave to the American people.
Birx initially defended her decision to meet up with three generations of family from two households at a Delaware vacation home by claiming the visit was necessary to “winterize” the property and not to celebrate Thanksgiving.
The coronavirus task force figure later elaborated during an interview with Newsy on how pandemic precautions, like the ones she doles out to Americans, have affected her family. Birx said her parents had become depressed and “stopped eating” over the isolation.
“My parents stopped eating and drinking because they were so depressed,” the 64-year-old <a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/newsy-exclusive-deborah-birx-says-she-ll-retire/">said</a> during the interview. “My daughter hasn’t left that house in 10 months, my parents have been isolated for 10 months. They’ve become deeply depressed,” Birx added, noting the need to “recover from the trauma of the last 10 months.”
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-emerges-claiming-birx-violated-her-thanksgiving-covid-recs">The Daily Wire</a>, Birx had repeatedly <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-november-19-2020/">urged</a> Americans to “increase their vigilance at this moment” during a press briefing on Nov. 19 “due to the number of increasing coronavirus cases around the country and the potential for a post-Thanksgiving surge due to small family gatherings.” Part of the guidance from Birx “was to ‘limit interactions indoors to immediate households.&#8217;”
During the Newsy interview, Birx said that she will retire after she’s helped the Biden transition team. “I’ve worked since 1980 in the federal government, first through the military, then through HHS and then detailed to the State Department and detailed here,” she said.
“I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in, and then I will retire. … I only came into the White House to ensure that our COVID response could utilize whatever information I had from confronting epidemics around the globe,” Birx added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/birx-after-breaking-own-covid-guidance-my-parents-were-depressed-and-isolated">Birx After Breaking Own COVID Guidance: My Parents Were Depressed And Isolated</a>

Dr. Birx, Dr. Carson

Birx Suggests Trump Secretly Fed Covid Data. Carson: I Never Saw That, People ‘Finding Ways To Stir Up The Problems’

Ben Carson

White House Coronavirus Task coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx admitted Sunday that she broke her own COVID-related travel guidance on Thanksgiving, gathering with three generations of family from two households. She was not &#8220;celebrating,&#8221; however, Birx assured the public in a statement, but &#8220;winterizing&#8221; one of her homes.
Birx elaborated Tuesday during an interview with Newsy on the toll pandemic precautions, like the ones she doles out to Americans, have affected her family. The task force leader said her parents had become depressed and &#8220;stopped eating&#8221; over the isolation &#8212; isolation Birx has recommended time and time again.
“My parents stopped eating and drinking because they were so depressed,” the 64-year-old <a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/newsy-exclusive-deborah-birx-says-she-ll-retire/">said</a> during the interview.
“My daughter hasn’t left that house in 10 months, my parents have been isolated for 10 months. They’ve become deeply depressed,” Birx added, noting the need to “recover from the trauma of the last 10 months.”
Many online and news outlets like the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/12/23/dr-birx-trip-came-after-parents-stopped-eating-and-drinking/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter">tied</a> Birx&#8217;s comments to her Thanksgiving rule-breaking, since Birx&#8217;s parents were present at her vacation home.
&#8220;Birx said she took her Thanksgiving jaunt to Delaware because her parents were so down in the dumps, they &#8216;stopped eating and drinking&#8217; — a justification ripped by people who said it was her coronavirus restrictions that prevented them from seeing their own dying loved ones,&#8221; the Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/12/23/dr-birx-trip-came-after-parents-stopped-eating-and-drinking/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter">reported</a>, highlighting online backlash directed at Birx:
<blockquote>“My dad died of Covid surrounded by people in hazmat suits. He didn’t understand,” writer <a href="https://twitter.com/Mark_S_Aldrich/status/1341530450246979585" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mark Aldrich replied </a>to Newsy’s interview.
“My mom couldn’t visit him. She is depressed. Birx’ parents felt depressed? I’m sorry. She still has a one parent surplus over my sister &amp; me,” he wrote.
Peg Manley tweeted: “My mother died in March, we still haven’t buried her.”
<a href="https://twitter.com/ManleyPeg/status/1341509164242243591" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Birx “hasn’t a clue,” </a>Manley wrote. “We have all gone without family. Without celebrations.”
A Twitter user named Kristopher said the isolation was even worse for his 78-year-old father, who lives alone.
“I haven’t been able to TRAVEL to see him in over 10 months. I’ve listened to the experts.
“WE <a href="https://twitter.com/krisekidd/status/1341594131563380736" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CAN’T ALL DO WHATEVER THE F–K WE WANT</a> and hope to defeat COVID,” he wrote.
“Why are you and your family special? At least your parents and daughter aren’t alone.”</blockquote>
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-emerges-claiming-birx-violated-her-thanksgiving-covid-recs">The Daily Wire</a>, Birx repeatedly <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-november-19-2020/">urged</a> Americans to “increase their vigilance at this moment” during a press briefing on Nov. 19 &#8220;due to the number of increasing coronavirus cases around the country and the potential for a post-Thanksgiving surge due to small family gatherings.&#8221;
Part of the guidance from Birx, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-emerges-claiming-birx-violated-her-thanksgiving-covid-recs">The Daily Wire</a> noted, &#8220;was to &#8216;limit interactions indoors to immediate households.'&#8221;
During the Newsy interview, Birx said that she will retire after she&#8217;s helped the Biden transition team.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve worked since 1980 in the federal government, first through the military, then through HHS and then detailed to the State Department and detailed here,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in, and then I will retire. &#8230; I only came into the White House to ensure that our COVID response could utilize whatever information I had from confronting epidemics around the globe,&#8221; Birx added.

Birx After Breaking Own COVID Guidance: My Parents Were Depressed And Isolated

Lockdowns

Dr. Deborah Birx said Tuesday that she plans to retire as coordinator of the White House coronavirus pandemic response team after facing backlash for a Thanksgiving trip to Delaware.
Birx traveled to her vacation home in Delaware during the Thanksgiving holiday, along with her husband, her daughter, and her daughter&#8217;s family, who are members of a separate household &#8212; a trip that was in violation of her own agency&#8217;s coronavirus prevention guidelines.
Birx, as well as other experts, cautioned Americans not to travel over the holidays or spend time with family members who reside in separate households where they might have been exposed to the novel coronavirus. &#8220;Canceling&#8221; the holidays, both Thanksgiving and, now, Christmas, is part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with a surge of post-holiday patients.
“It looked like things were starting to improve in our northern plain states, and now with Thanksgiving, we’re worried that all of that will be reversed,” Dr. Birx told CBS the Sunday after Thanksgiving. “If your family traveled, you have to assume that you were exposed and you became infected and you really need to get tested in the next week.”
Tuesday morning, Birx defended her decision to meet up with family at her Delaware vacation home, claiming the visit was to &#8220;winterize&#8221; the property and not to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday and that the family spent fewer than 50 hours on site.
&#8220;We did not hold the usual Thanksgiving dinner we have every year which includes 30-40 members of my extended family. In fact, I did not hold a Thanksgiving celebration whatsoever this year,&#8221; Birx said in her statement. &#8220;My trip to Delaware after the Thanksgiving holiday solely focused on preparing the property for a potential sale. Members of my immediate household assisted in that as well.&#8221;
Neither Birx nor other health officials specified that a non-celebratory trip would be acceptable over the holiday weekend, just that travel and intermingling should be avoided.
Birx claimed to have followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&#8217;s recommendations.
&#8220;As some members of my immediate family could be at risk for COVID-19, I am extremely vigilant in taking all precautions to protect them,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I self-isolate, I wear a mask, and I get tested when I interact with them. My family and I follow and practice CDC guidelines, and I encourage all Americans, especially those in situations similar to mine, to do the same.&#8221;
Health officials, of course, have specified no exceptions to the de facto travel restrictions for those who also follow masking guidelines.
Dr. Birx later told media that she plans to retire, and cited the backlash to her Delaware trip as one reason why she feels the need to transition out of her position on the White House&#8217;s pandemic response team.
“I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in, and then I will retire,” she told media outlet Newsy later Tuesday morning, <a href="https://www.ky3.com/2020/12/22/white-house-virus-coordinator-deborah-birx-says-she-will-retire/">according to The Associated Press</a>.
&#8220;Birx, 64, told Newsy the scrutiny she has received in her job has been a &#8216;bit overwhelming,'&#8221; the outlet noted.
“I will be helpful through a period of time, and then I will have to say this experience has been a bit overwhelming,” she said. “It’s been very difficult on my family. I think what was done in the last week to my family, you know, they didn’t choose this for me.”
“You know, they’ve tried to be supportive, but to drag my family into this, when my daughter hasn’t left that house in 10 months, my parents have been isolated for 10 months, they’ve [be]come deeply depressed, as I’m sure many elderly have as they’ve not been able to see sons, their granddaughters. My parents haven’t seen their surviving son for over a year,” she added. “These are all very difficult things.”

Members Of The Coronavirus Task Force Hold Press Briefing

Dr. Birx Defends Thanksgiving Trip, Says She Will Retire Over Backlash

Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House Coroanvirus Task Force, released a statement on Monday after she was caught appearing to violate the very guidelines that she recommended that Americans follow around Thanksgiving weekend.
The Associated Press reported on Sunday that Birx traveled to a vacation property that she owns on Fenwick Island in Delaware the day after Thanksgiving where she was joined by three generations of family members from two households.
“She insisted the purpose of the roughly 50-hour visit was to deal with the winterization of the property before a potential sale — something she says she previously hadn’t had time to do because of her busy schedule,” the AP reported. “Birx said that everyone on her Delaware trip belongs to her ‘immediate household,’ even as she acknowledged they live in two different homes.”
Birx faced widespread criticism over the report over the weekend and, after initially declining to issue a statement on the matter, released a statement on Monday where she attempted to explain her actions.
Birx said in a statement late on Monday evening:
<blockquote>Like many Americans, I am the sole caregiver for my parents. They live with me in my immediate household in Potomac, where my daughter and her family reside as well. We are all supporting and providing for each other during this difficult time.
We did not hold the usual Thanksgiving we have every year which includes 30-40 members of my extended family. In fact, I did not hold a Thanksgiving celebration whatsoever this year. My trip to Delaware after the Thanksgiving holiday solely focused on preparing the property for a potential sale. Members of my immediate household assisted in that as well.
As some members of my immediate family could be at risk for COVID-19, I am extremely vigilant in taking all precautions to protect them. I self-isolate, I wear a mask, and I get tested when I interact with them. My family and I follow and practice CDC guidelines, and I encourage all Americans, especially those in situations similar to mine, to do the same.</blockquote>
One of Birx&#8217;s family members came forward to The Associated Press with the story, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-emerges-claiming-birx-violated-her-thanksgiving-covid-recs">claiming</a> that Birx had &#8220;cavalierly violated her own guidance.&#8221;
The family member said they came forward with the information because they were concerned about other family members that were at higher risk for the coronavirus because of their age.

Vice President Pence Leads Coronavirus Task Force Briefing

Dr. Birx Releases Statement After Report That She Violated Her Own Guidance During Thanksgiving Weekend

A report emerged on Sunday claiming that White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx violated some of the recommendations that she made about how Americans should proceed with family interactions around Thanksgiving.
During a press briefing on November 19, Birx repeatedly <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-november-19-2020/">urged</a> people to &#8220;increase their vigilance at this moment&#8221; due to the number of increasing coronavirus cases around the country and the potential for a post-Thanksgiving surge due to small family gatherings. Part of the guidance that Birx gave was to &#8220;limit interactions indoors to immediate households.&#8221;
The Associated Press reported on Sunday that Birx, who has worked for Democrat and Republican administrations, traveled to a vacation property that she owns on Fenwick Island in Delaware where she was joined by three generations of family members from two households.
&#8220;She insisted the purpose of the roughly 50-hour visit was to deal with the winterization of the property before a potential sale — something she says she previously hadn’t had time to do because of her busy schedule,&#8221; the AP reported. &#8220;Birx said that everyone on her Delaware trip belongs to her &#8216;immediate household,&#8217; even as she acknowledged they live in two different homes.&#8221;
Birx told the AP that she &#8220;did not go to Delaware for the purpose of celebrating Thanksgiving&#8221; but added that her family shared a meal together while in Delaware. The AP&#8217;s report did not state whether the meal was indoors or outdoors. The AP&#8217;s report also did not state whether the activities involved in winterizing the home were mostly indoors or outdoors. <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@4142497/historic?month=11&amp;year=2020">Weather</a> for the area during the time period that Birx was there was in the high 50s to low 60s.
The AP added:
<blockquote>
Margaret Flynn, the children’s other grandmother comes to the Potomac home to provide child care, then returns to her husband, who has health complications. Birx said that she hasn’t seen the other grandmother since the beginning of the pandemic and does not know how frequently she visits the Potomac house. Flynn confirmed that she hasn’t spoken to Birx in months. &#8230;
Kathleen Flynn, whose brother is married to Birx’s daughter who lives in the Potomac house, said she brought forward information about Birx’s situation out of concern for her own parents, and acknowledged family friction over the matter.
“She cavalierly violated her own guidance,” Flynn said of Birx.
Richard Flynn, her father, confirmed details of Birx’s Thanksgiving holiday gathering and visits to the Potomac house, but said he trusted the doctor and believes she’s doing what’s right. He said Birx’s visits to the house have occurred only every few weeks of late. &#8230;
Kathleen Flynn said she urged her brother and sister-in-law not to allow her mother to babysit, arguing it put her mother at risk by spending so much time in a household other than her own, while also posing a danger to Birx’s elderly parents. Flynn, who said she has long had a strained relationship with her brother, is currently not on speaking terms with him and has never met Birx.</blockquote>
Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University’s law school who has known Birx for years, told the AP that he was confident that she was careful and took all necessary precautions during the trip but noted that it undercut her message as a health care professional.

Report Emerges Claiming That Dr. Deborah Birx Violated Her Thanksgiving Coronavirus Recommendations

A woman wearing a mask who claims to be Dr. Deborah Birx but, let’s face it, could be anybody, recently commented on the current surge in the Chinese Flu or the WuFlu or the Kung Flu or the Chicom Flu or the Andrew Cuomo Death Bug, as it is known among terrified New York old people.
The alleged Dr. Birx – who claims to be the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator but may not even be Dr. Birx let alone the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator – said, and this is a real quote, “Only we can save us from the current surge, and we know precisely what to do.”
When reporters asked the putative Dr. Birx to elaborate on what precisely we precisely know precisely to do, she said:
“We must wear the masks we didn’t have to wear but now should wear though they won’t protect us if they’re worn beneath the nose or above the mouth or over the face, though that may protect your grandmother who, of course, is already dead if she lives in New York State.
&#8220;Then we must shut restaurants unless they are serving rich people and stop celebrating any holiday that suggests there is a spiritual power in the universe higher than your local public officials.
&#8220;Those who are already ill must die alone in order to discourage others from going outdoors where there is no danger of catching the virus unless you are indoors and wearing a mask which would be useless in that situation.
&#8220;Everyone must stay at home except those delivery people who have to bring us our food while we move large amounts of cash into each other’s bank accounts via Zoom conference calls, and of course, governors who need a night on the town.
&#8220;If we precisely follow these precise instructions to perform what we know precisely are the precisely correct actions, we will die like flies, but at least the economy will collapse.”
Thank you, Dr. Birx — if that’s who you are.
More satire from Andrew Klavan: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-hilarious-comic-masterpiece-nyt-editor-tweets-paper-will-treat-biden-as-they-did-trump">In Hilarious Comic Masterpiece, NYT Editor Tweets Paper Will Treat Biden As They Did Trump</a>

President Trump Holds News Conference In White House Briefing Room

In Delightful Self-Satirizing Performance Art, Dr. Birx Says ‘We Know Precisely What to Do’ To Stop Surging Virus [Satire]

Coronavirus

Readers Pass

Satire

President Trump on Monday said White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx &#8220;took the bait and hit us&#8221; after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Birx was presenting an overly optimistic picture of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Sunday, Birx said the pandemic is &#8220;different&#8221; than it had been and has become &#8220;extraordinarily widespread.&#8221;
&#8220;So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus, including Vaccines &amp; Therapeutics. In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait &amp; hit us. Pathetic!&#8221; Trump wrote on Twitter Monday morning.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus, including Vaccines &amp; Therapeutics. In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait &amp; hit us. Pathetic!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1290282508303716352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Birx, who began serving as the United States Global AIDS Coordinator after she was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014, was responsible for the President&#8217;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program in 65 countries that supports HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs. But she now serves on Trump&#8217;s White House task force, which prompted Pelosi to say she has lost all confidence in the doctor.
“I think the president is spreading disinformation about the virus, and she is his appointee, and so I don’t have confidence there, no,” Pelosi <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1289912680220954624">said</a> Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
In a piece posted Friday by Politico, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/02/pelosi-birx-trump-coronavirus-misinformation-390422">headlined</a> &#8220;Pelosi trashes Birx,&#8221; the political website said the Speaker has been privately bashing the award-winning immunologist.
“Deborah Birx is the worst. Wow, what horrible hands you’re in,” Pelosi reportedly said in a private meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. &#8220;She accused BIRX of spreading disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic while praising ANTHONY FAUCI, who she said &#8216;came to his senses, and is now a hero,'&#8221; Politico reported.
Birx responded diplomatically on Sunday, saying she had “tremendous respect for the Speaker.” But she blasted a New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/08/02/us/politics/02reuters-health-coronavirus-usa-pelosi.html?searchResultPosition=8">report</a> that described Pelosi as saying Birx had embraced overly optimistic assessments on the virus.
“I have tremendous respect for the Speaker, and I have tremendous respect for her long dedication to the American people, and I think it was unfortunate that the New York Times wrote this article without speaking to me,” she <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/02/politics/birx-coronavirus-new-phase-cnntv/index.html">said</a> on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I could have brought forth the data. I provide data every single day with an analysis.”
&#8220;This was not a pollyannish view. I’ve never been called pollyannish, or non-scientific, or non-data driven,&#8221; Birx said. &#8220;I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of using data to implement better programs and save lives.&#8221;
In her CNN appearance, Birx said SARS-CoV2, which causes COVID-19, is more widespread than when it first began sweeping across the nation.
&#8220;What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread. It&#8217;s into the rural as equal urban areas,&#8221; Birx said.
&#8220;To everybody who lives in a rural area, you are not immune or protected from this virus,&#8221; Birx said. &#8220;If you&#8217;re in multi-generational households, and there&#8217;s an outbreak in your rural area or in your city, you need to really consider wearing a mask at home, assuming that you&#8217;re positive if you have individuals in your households with comorbidities.&#8221;
Birx also blamed public events for the spread. &#8220;It&#8217;s not super spreading individuals, it&#8217;s super spreading events and we need to stop those. We definitely need to take more precautions,&#8221; she said.
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