Dr. Deborah Birx Tells CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta Most Covid Deaths ‘Could Have Been Mitigated’ After The Initial Surge

Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of former President Donald Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force, told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta that she believed most of America’s Covid-19 deaths “could have been mitigated” after the initial surge if the Trump administration had taken action sooner.

Birx was one of a half dozen former Trump officials who sat down with Gupta for a CNN documentary, “Covid War: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out,” which will air in full Sunday evening.

In a clip released by CNN, Gupta asked Birx if she thought it would have made a difference if the U.S. had acted sooner, urging people to wear masks, socially distance, avoid large gatherings, and other methods to slow the spread of the virus.

“I look at it this way: The first time, we have an excuse. There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge,” said Birx. “All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially.”

To date, almost 550,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, out of 2.77 million worldwide.

Birx has been criticized for remaining silent during some of Trump’s more outlandish comments during the pandemic, including when he openly pondering if ingesting bleach or disinfectant would cure Covid at a press conference, or when he promoted the unproven hydroxychloroquine as a treatment.

Watch the video above, via CNN.