FDA commissioner cannot support Trump’s claim that 99 percent of coronavirus cases are harmless [Video]

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

• The head of the FDA refuses to deny or confirm Trump’s comment that COVID-19 cases are mostly harmless.
• Trump made the said claim during an Independence Day speech, most likely citing CDC’s recent weekly report that hospitalization rate is at 102.5 for every 100,000.
• There was a reported upsurge in the number of infection cases in several states in the U.S in the last few weeks.

On Sunday, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief Stephen Hahn declined to confirm or refute President Trump’s announcement that 99 percent of coronavirus cannot harm.

During an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Hanh was asked to comment on the president’s claim during a White House Fourth of July gathering.

Hahn replied that the public is aware of how COVID0-19 plagued the whole country, noting that data and studies backed it up.  He clarified, though, that he would not second guess on Trump’s claim about the matter.

“We know that cases are surging in the country,” Hahn said. “We’ve all seen the graphs associated with that, and it’s just too early, and I’m not gonna speculate on what the causation is there.”

Dana Bash of the CNN further asked the commissioner, saying that what the president said was not true, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ‘s estimates can attest to that.

Bash then pushed Hahn by asking if he thinks Trump’s claim is wrong.

Hahn responded by saying that he won’t focus so much on whether the president’s statement is accurate. He said, however, that the coronavirus was a severe problem, and the government must continue working in curbing the spread of infections.

The commissioner further told Dana that all data were forwarded to the administration’s coronavirus task force, and the information indicated that the U.S is facing a severe problem. He further said that authorities should not downplay the health crisis.

During his Independence Day speech, Trump might have cited a CDC figure from this week saying the hospital admission rate is 102.5 in every 100,000.

Coronavirus infections in the country have been spiking in the past few weeks in states, including Florida, California, Arizona, and Texas.

The U.S. has reached over 2.8 million coronavirus cases, recording at least 129,676 deaths, as per data gathered by the Johns Hopkins University.

Source: The Hill