Deborah Birx

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Birx: Yes, I Should Have Rebutted the Disinfectant Idea

'I was paralyzed in that moment,' she recalls of Trump press conference

(Newser) - It was one of the more memorable moments from then-President Trump's pandemic briefings. In April 2020, he talked about the idea of people injecting disinfectant to fight the coronavirus. The following day, Trump backtracked and said he wasn't serious . Now, one of his top COVID advisers from the...

House Panel: Trump Tried to Undermine COVID Response

Congressional subcommittee interviewed former officials over several months

(Newser) - A report from Congress released Friday says officials in the Trump administration deliberately undermined the public health response and messaging around the coronavirus pandemics, CNN reports. The findings are a result of months of interviews with former officials, and some of the information has been released before. But there’s...

Birx: More Than 100K Died After Trump Ignored Advice

She says election distracted White House officials from COVID crisis

(Newser) - Donald Trump's failures during the pandemic cost more than 100,000 American lives, former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx told lawmakers earlier this month, according to newly released testimony. Birx told the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in hearings Oct. 12 and 13 that...

Trump Has a Lot to Say About Fauci, Birx

He responds to their comments in CNN documentary

(Newser) - Former President Trump was, perhaps not surprisingly, displeased with the things Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx had to say in a CNN documentary about COVID-19 that aired Sunday night. Birx said hundreds of thousands of deaths could have been mitigated had Trump handled the pandemic differently, and Fauci bemoaned...

CDC Chief on New COVID Cases: 'I'm Scared'
CDC Chief
Feels 'Impending
Doom' Over
COVID Cases
the rundown
Mar 29, 2021 1:50 PM CDT

CDC Chief Feels 'Impending Doom' Over COVID Cases

Daily infections, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase

(Newser) - The head of the CDC gave an update on COVID Monday that took a personal turn. Rochelle Walensky appeared to fight back tears as she warned Americans in stark terms that the rising number of coronavirus cases threatens to upend progress from vaccines, reports Axios . "Just please hold on...

Dr. Birx: I Had an 'Uncomfortable' Call With Trump

After August interview that upset everyone in the White House, she says

(Newser) - In the CNN documentary that aired Sunday, Dr. Deborah Birx said everything after the first 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in the US could have been mitigated —and the former coronavirus coordinator for then-President Trump's administration also recalled a challenging phone call with Trump. She had just been interviewed...

Birx Says Death Toll 'Could Have Been Mitigated'

Everything after first 100,000

(Newser) - Dr. Deborah Birx, who rose to prominence as coronavirus coordinator in Trump's White House, recently sat with CNN to talk about government shortfalls when it came to America's early response to the COVID pandemic. In a documentary set to air Sunday, Birx tells Sanjay Gupta we "had...

Deborah Birx Finds New Jobs
Deborah Birx
Finds New Jobs
Mar 12, 2021 5:30 PM CST

Deborah Birx Finds New Jobs

Retired public health official will work for Bush Institute, among others

(Newser) - A year after the Trump White House announced she'd be coordinating its coronavirus response, Deborah Birx has found new work—and plenty of it. The George W. Bush Institute said Friday that Birx will be joining as a senior fellow concentrating on health disparities, Politco reports. A public health...

Deborah Birx Says She'll Help Biden, Then Retire
Task Force Mainstay
Plans to Retire
Dec 22, 2020 4:02 PM CST

Task Force Mainstay Plans to Retire

Dr. Deborah Birx has taken heat for her Thanksgiving trip

(Newser) - Dealing with a backlash after a Thanksgiving trip, Dr. Deborah Birx said Tuesday she's going to retire, though she'll offer to assist President-elect Joe Biden's administration with its coronavirus efforts first. "I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in,...

Top COVID Official Didn't Quite Take Her Own Advice

Deborah Birx travels with family to Delaware

(Newser) - Deborah Birx tells Americans to "be vigilant" and celebrate only with "your immediate household" over the holidays, but many struggle to take that advice—including Birx herself, the AP reports. Birx, who coordinates the White House coronavirus response, visited a vacation home in Delaware last month with three...

Deborah Birx's Daily Reports Are Getting More Dire

She says the 'aggressive balanced approach' we need to take 'is not being implemented'

(Newser) - Anthony Fauci over the weekend gave perhaps his most critical public assessment yet of the White House's response to the coronavirus pandemic—and on Monday, another top coronavirus adviser was contradicting President Trump's take on the federal government's COVID-19 response. "This is not about lockdowns—it...

Report: Birx, Others Pressured CDC on Sending Kids to School

Ex-aide to Mike Pence: 'You're exchanging votes for lives'

(Newser) - Top White House officials, including the coordinator of the coronavirus task force, pressured leaders at the CDC to downplay the risks of sending children back to school in the midst of a pandemic, the New York Times is reporting. The report cites current and former government officials, including a former...

After Trump's Shots, Fauci Backs Birx on 'New Phase'

Community spread indeed is the problem, expert says

(Newser) - It's not just Dr. Deborah Birx who believes the nation has moved into a frightening "new phase" of the COVID-19 pandemic, even if that view is unpopular with President Trump . Dr. Anthony Fauci, her colleague on the White House coronavirus task force, sees things pretty much the same...

'Pathetic!': Trump Blasts COVID Adviser Birx

President accuses her of caving to pressure, issuing gloomy coronavirus outlook

(Newser) - President Trump isn't shy about expressing displeasure with Dr. Anthony Fauci, and on Monday he slammed fellow COVID adviser Dr. Deborah Birx for the first time, reports Axios . Trump's criticism came after Birx issued a dire coronavirus outlook for the US, saying the disease was in a "...

Birx to Those Where COVID Is Surging: Wear Masks at Home

If you live with someone who's especially vulnerable to this 'extraordinarily widespread' virus

(Newser) - As the US nears 155,000 deaths from COVID-19, the virus has entered a "new phase," Dr. Deborah Birx warned Sunday. The White House's coronavirus task force coordinator, who appeared on CNN's State of the Union , said the disease "is different from March and April"...

These 11 Cities Receive a COVID Warning

Dr. Birx is worried about Baltimore, Cleveland, and 9 others

(Newser) - White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx is worried about 11 US cities in particular because of a surge in positive tests, according to a report by the Center for Public Integrity . Birx warned state and local leaders—the exact participants are unclear—in a private phone call...

US Considers a New Strategy on Testing
US May Shift Strategy
on COVID Testing
the rundown
Jun 26, 2020 9:53 AM CDT

US May Shift Strategy on COVID Testing

'Pool testing' may be more effective

(Newser) - The US is considering a major shift in strategy in regard to COVID-19: It's called "pool testing." The general idea is to make testing more efficient by taking a shortcut of sorts. Samples would be taken from a group of people and then combined, and then one...

CDC Director: 2nd Wave of Coronavirus Likely to Be Worse

He warns that the next wave will likely hit during flu season

(Newser) - As states start to reopen or, at least, consider reopening , the director of the CDC has a warning: The coronavirus isn't going anywhere, and when the next wave hits the US, it could be worse than this one. "There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus...

Birx Warns of Spike in Deaths in 3 Hot Spots

New York, Louisiana, and Detroit; this coming week might be 'toughest' yet, says Trump

(Newser) - President Trump warned Saturday that the country could be headed into "one of the toughest weeks" yet as the coronavirus death toll mounts, per the AP . "There will be a lot of death, unfortunately," Trump said in a somber start to his daily briefing on the pandemic....

Birx: 100K to 200K Deaths if Things Go 'Almost Perfectly'

She says some metro areas were late in getting people to follow 15-day guidelines

(Newser) - The figure of up to 200,000 possible American deaths from the coronavirus is now in wide circulation, with Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Trump both mentioning the number on Sunday. On Monday, the White House coronavirus response coordinator agreed, and Dr. Deborah Birx cautioned that it's actually a...

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