Birx Smacks Down Covid Myths: I Hear People ‘Parroting Back’ False Claims About Masks, Gatherings, Herd Immunity

Dr. Deborah Birx appeared on Meet the Press Sunday morning and made a point of pushing back against coronavirus myths that have spread around the country.

Chuck Todd asked Birx about how the White House and State Department are “throwing indoor parties” with little regard for the guidelines surrounding large gatherings.

“This mixed messaging that the country’s been getting — you say one thing, Dr. Fauci says one thing, and the president does another,” Todd remarked.

Birx emphasized the need to follow the guidelines both indoors and outdoors. She pointed out almost every single state is seeing cases rising right now and emphasized, “You cannot gather without masks.”

Todd again asked about the president and others continuing to flout public health guidelines, and now Americans might not follow the guidelines because of the poor example leaders are setting.

Birx detailed the myths she’s heard from Americans:

“I hear community members parroting back those situations, parroting back that masks don’t work, parroting back that we should work towards herd immunity, parroting back that gatherings don’t result in superspreading events. And I think our job is to constantly say those are myths, they are wrong, and you can see the evidence base.”

She called out governors in states where the virus is just as bad as it was during the summer but aren’t imposing the same restrictions they did then. Birx called it “frustrating,” particularly as an even more grim winter surge approaches.

You can watch above, via NBC.