The pandemic is over. That information hasn’t been officially declared by a national health professional or the CDC, but President Joe Biden said it confidently during a stroll on “60 Minutes.” The president was interviewed in Detroit and he didn’t hold back on his thoughts about the disease that has shifted the way the world has operated for nearly three years.
“The pandemic is over,” he said. “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it, but the pandemic is over.”
Biden was in Michigan for the Detroit Auto Show, the first in-person show in three years since the 2020 shutdown.
“If you notice, no one’s wearing masks,” he said. “Everyone seems to be in pretty good shape. I think it’s changing, and I think this is a perfect example of it.”
Joe Biden in Detroit, with 60 Minutes: "The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over." pic.twitter.com/zkgSwJ79Wf
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 19, 2022
In July, Biden tested positive for COVID-19 twice. The first case was confirmed on July 21, when he experienced mild symptoms, including a runny nose, cough and a fever. On the second go-round, America’s 46th president said he experienced no symptoms.
According to The New York Times‘ COVID-19 tracker, the seven-day average of new reported positive cases is 129, which is 254 less than last year’s seven-day average of 383 reported positive cases. The John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center listed more than two million COVID cases in America in the past 28 days, as reported by Politico.
Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding used Twitter to voice his displeasure with the president.Feigl-Ding
“I’m still shaking my head at what Biden says. If he only knew how much I stuck my head out and sacrificed for him in 2020,” Feigl-Ding tweeted.
Is the pandemic over?
⚠️Hell no—Not even close.
🔹 Excess mortality still exceeds THIRD global cause of death!
🔹#LongCOVID itself is a pandemic crisis
🔹Evolution of new virus variants not done yet
🔹Transmission still very highHT @fibke @PeoplesCDC https://t.co/c3PHNAZEeI pic.twitter.com/EtaGJzZnR3
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) September 19, 2022
The doctor also pointed out Politico‘s report that revealed “several” of Biden’s health officials were caught by surprise by the president’s statement. Fiegl-Ding also posted a screenshot of a report from Sept. 16 that nearly 3,000 people are still dying every week from COVID.
“No, COVID is still not the flu yet, damnit,” Feigl-Ding tweeted.
Feigl-Ding also explained that COVID still kills more people than the flu.
“The data doesn’t lie,” Fiegl-Ding tweeted.
