The White House is reportedly panicking after President Joe Biden declared the Covid pandemic “over” on “60 Minutes” on Sunday.
“Is the pandemic over?” CBS’ Scott Pelley asked.
“The pandemic is over,” Biden said. “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing mask, everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing and I think this is a perfect example.”
According to a report by Politico, multiple White House Covid advisers were taken by “surprise.”
Biden’s insistence on Sunday night that the pandemic is over caught several of his own health officials by surprise. The declaration was not part of his planned remarks ahead of the “60 Minutes” interview, two administration officials familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Politico also attempted to walk back the White House’s statement by referring to Covid-19 “cases.”
Despite Biden’s statement, Covid has continued to exact a toll in the United States and around the world. The John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center lists more than 2 million Covid cases in the country in the last 28 days, with hundreds dying from the disease every day.
“Biden’s statement was the most definite one he has made about the pandemic since assuming the presidency in January 2021,” Politico added. “He was less definitive when asked whether he planned to seek reelection.”
“Is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” Biden said. He added that he would make his decision after the November midterms.
The U.S. is now at over 99% seroprevalence for Covid-19, meaning that there was near-universal exposure to the virus, despite the vaccine mandates, mask mandates and lockdowns.
Despite the vaccines, President Joe Biden would oversee more Covid-related deaths than former President Donald Trump. Now, 606 days into Biden’s presidency, he has finally declared the Covid pandemic to be “over.”
While the coronavirus pandemic may now be officially ‘over’ in the United States, the damage from Covid response measures will still be impacting the country for decades.
Current Founder, CEO and Chief Editor of Becker News. Former Writer & Associate Producer at Fox News for #1 top-rated prime-time cable news show. Former Director of Viral Media and Senior Managing Editor for award-winning startup website IJReview, which grew to a readership of 20-30 million Americans a month. Led editorial and social media team that was #1 ranked news & politics publisher on Facebook for story engagement. Writer whose thousands of digital articles have been read by over 100 million unique users.