- President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – led by people he named – inaccurately track coronavirus cases and death rates.
- The number of cases and deaths in the United States “is very exaggerated,” he said in a tweet on Sunday, an allegation that Anthony Fauci and other experts contested.
- The CDC is much more likely to underestimate the cases insufficiently. For months, experts have said that death rates and cases are actually much higher than is known.
- Trump’s comments occur when the number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States exceeds 350,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
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President Donald Trump on Sunday protested the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying the agency exaggerates the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.
The CDC is run by people he has appointed. The agency has been updating new cases and death counts daily for months.
“The number of cases and deaths of the virus from China is greatly exaggerated in the United States because of the ridiculous method of determining @CDCgov compared to other countries, many of which report, purposefully, very inaccurately and low,” tweeted Trump . “‘If in doubt, call him Covid.’ Fake news! “
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021
It is important to note that the CDC and other COVID-19 trackers are only able to identify the number of known cases of coronavirus and deaths. For months, experts have suggested that case and death rates are actually much higher than is known, as some cases may not be reported.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist and a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force, contested Trump’s statements on Sunday.
Speaking on ABC News’ “This Week”, Fauci said the deaths “are real” and opposed Trump’s tweet.
“All you have to do is go to the trenches,” he said. “Go to hospitals and see what health professionals are up against. They are in very stressful situations in many areas of the country. Hospital beds are stretched, people are running out of beds, running out of trained and exhausted personnel. “
“This is real,” Fauci continued. “This is not false. This is real.”
—This week (@ThisWeekABC) January 3, 2021
U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams also contested Trump’s tweet. “From the point of view of public health, I have no reason to doubt these figures”, he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
Trump’s comments came when the number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States exceeded 350,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 20 million confirmed cases in the country, according to JHU data.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.