‘Pandemic is Over,” President Biden Said, Epidemiologists Disagree

Is the COVID-19 pandemic over? Health officials say no, the President says yes.

The numbers would show it is still going. According to the CDC, in the past week, the state has more than 18,000 new cases, 196 new deaths and 155 daily hospital admissions.

All numbers are way down from the worst days of the pandemic but those in charge of tracking the data say it’s disappointing to hear the President make the claim now.

The statements came from Sunday night’s episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes. Scott Pelley asked Biden directly, “Is the pandemic over?” To which the President answered, “The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID, we’re still doing a lot of work on it but the pandemic is over.”

Biden may think so, but those who are still tracking the virus don’t agree.

“I would say my first response was disappointment,” said Abram Wagner, epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, “I think talking with many of my epidemiology colleagues, we acknowledge that the pandemic is still here.”

While Wagner disagrees with Biden, he understands the confusion.

“This is the frustrating thing, there is no clear definition of what a pandemic is,” said Wagner.

The definitions we do have are vague.

“A pandemic means that we think that the disease is serious, in terms of how the disease presents itself in individuals, we also think that the disease is spreading in different parts of the world,” said Wagner.

He goes on to say it’s also a global definition so the President can’t even make that determination. Biden appeared to use more anecdotal information for his statement.

“If you notice, no one‘s wearing masks everyone’s seems to be in pretty good shape,” Biden said while touring the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week, “And so I think it’s changing and I think this is a perfect example of it.”

Wagner says while the pandemic is still raging, the difference is how we treat, manage and contain the spread. He thinks the true impact of Biden’s words will show in funding for vaccines, treatments and tests.

“I think what Biden is signaling is that there’s going to be less funding for different interventions.”