Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday that the United States is still seeing “way too many” deaths linked to COVID-19.
What happened?
Walensky said on the “Today” show Thursday that there is “early evidence the vaccine is working … we’re still seeing 1,000 deaths a day, way too many.”
- She said it’s important the vaccine rollout continues to avoid so many deaths.
- “What we really want to do is make sure that we can reach all the population that can get the vaccination so we can get that mortality rate down.”
More concerns
Walensky said at a White House COVID-19 briefing Wednesday that she has some concerns about the state of the United States right now, saying spring breakers might contribute to more spread of the novel coronavirus, according to CNN.
She also said it might be too early for states to end their mask mandates and end COVID-19 restrictions, according to the Deseret News’ Jeff Parrott.
Andy Slavitt, a senior White House coronavirus response adviser, said at a White House briefing this week that the U.S.’ top leaders have been saying for weeks that states should hold off on lifting restrictions.
- “You’ve heard the president say, and you’ve heard both Dr. (Anthony) Fauci and Dr. Walensky say, that we believe it’s a mistake to get rid of mask mandates,” he said.