Appearing on Fox News Sunday this morning, Dr. Deborah Birx dropped a pretty clear message that will hopefully reach some network viewers. The White House coronavirus response coordinator talked to host Chris Wallace about the number of people protesting stay-at-home orders across the nation. As Daily Kos has previously covered, protests in Michigan have gotten a particularly large amount of attention, given how tightly they crammed themselves into the state Capitol to protest COVID-19 lockdown orders … as well as the simultaneous number of assault weapons and lack of masks. Unsurprisingly, Wallace asked Birx about Michigan’s protest to reopen the state specifically.
Birx’s expressed her opinion that the protests are “devastatingly worrisome to me personally” in their lack of social distancing, especially given the reality that protesters may “go home and infect their grandmother or their grandfather” and if those people have a “serious” or “unfortunate outcome,” the protesters will “feel guilty for the rest of our lives.”
Here is that clip.
This logic is pretty much in line with what experts have been warning for months; even if you, personally, are not worried about the virus, you may expose it to people who are more vulnerable, either because of age, comorbid conditions, or any number of factors. Some analysis of Italy’s spread of the virus suggests that the number of young people visiting older family members may have contributed to those death toll numbers.
Wallace couched his initial question by stressing that he wasn’t asking about the protester’s right to gather in the Michigan state capitol, as in his words, “that, of course, they have,” but rather her take from a public health standpoint.
Asked about states reopening before any have reached two-week decline guidelines, and whether the federal government should be more “firm, if not binding” on state reopenings, Birx said: “I think federal guidelines are pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint.”
In terms of Georgia’s quick reopen of nonessential businesses, like salons, Birx said: "We’ve made it clear that that’s not a good phase one activity, and I think the president's made it clear when he discussed the case in Georgia.” Mind you, Georgia confirmed 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus in just a single day last week. And Gov. Brian Kemp allowed a number of nonessential businesses to open anyway as of May 1, including bowling alleys, tattoo parlors, barbershops, massage parlors, and gyms.
Here is that clip.
Overall, a considerable improvement from Birx’s appearance on Fox at the end of April, when she said the media had been “slicey and dicey” about coverage, and suggested it’s on the media to ensure headlines “reflect science and data.” That’s all fine and good, but of course, those comments were coming up because of Trump’s viral musing about injecting disinfectants or UV lights could treat the virus. Hopefully, her appeal on behalf of the vulnerable, and especially grandparents, will reach Fox viewership well.