Dr. Anthony Fauci (left) and President Donald Trump.Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty; Doug Mills-Pool/Getty
While appearing on ABC’sThis Week, Fauci rejected Trump’s tweet in which the president called the CDC’s methodology “ridiculous” and said thenumber of deaths in the U.S. is “Fake News!”
“Well, the deaths are real deaths. I mean, all you need to do is to go out into the trenches, go to the hospitals, see what the health care workers are dealing with. They are under very stressed situations in many areas of the country. The hospital beds are stretched,” Fauci said on Sunday in response to Trump’s statement.
“People are running out of beds, running out of trained personnel who are exhausted right now. That’s real. That’s not fake. That’s real,” Fauci added.
In the first days of the new year, the country recorded its 20 millionth case of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. As of Sunday afternoon, more than 20,464,700 people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 350,329 have died.
The nation doubled its total number of infections in less than two months as the U.S. hit 10 million cases on Nov. 9,NPRreported.
In addition, the U.S. is already behind in administering COVID-19 vaccinations.
Nationwide distribution began on Dec. 14 after the Food and Drug Administration approved two vaccine candidates, one from Pfizer and another from Moderna. Frontline healthcare workers were the first to receive a dose, withan ICU nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Centergetting the historic first shot in New York.
According to data from theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States has sent out over 13 million doses as of Jan. 3 but only 4.2 million people have reportedly received the vaccination.
Government officials aren’t sure what is causing the delay but blame a variety of factors — including the holiday season, as many people take off from work and clinics reduce their hours, according to theNew York Times.
Additionally, a new coronavirus variant is beginning to spread across the nation. This past week it was discovered in California, Colorado and Florida. Even at the time of its discovery, health experts said that theseemingly faster-spreading variantwas likely already in the U.S.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
