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The leading infectious disease expert from the United States has been asked why the Covid-19 death rate in the United States is “off the charts higher” than Australia, South Korea, New Zealand and other nations.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has become the face of the United States’ pandemic battle and a regular at the press sessions of United States President Donald Trump, was one of four experts who testified by video link. before a panel of the United States Senate on Tuesday (Wednesday New Zealand time).
Senator Tim Kaine told the hearing that the United States has the seventh highest Covid-19 death rate per capita in the world with more than 81,000 lives lost.
“Our death rate is off the charts higher than that of India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Mexico,” said Virginia Democratic Senator Kaine.
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“It is almost three times the death rate in Germany, double the rate in Canada.”
“The question is why?'”
Senator Kaine, who repeatedly prevented Dr. Fauci from answering the questions he posed, said Covid-19’s death rate in the United States was 45 times higher than in South Korea.
As of Wednesday, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people worldwide and has killed more than 287,000, more than 80,000 in the US alone. USA In Australia, 98 people died from the virus and 21 in New Zealand.
Dr. Fauci agreed that the United States’ figures were unacceptable and that the United States had to do better.
“Such a high death rate is something that is unacceptable in my mind anyway,” said Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Fauci agreed that access to medical care gave people a better chance of surviving the virus.
“In South Korea, 97 percent of the population has health insurance,” said Senator Kaine.
“In the United States before Covid-19 million did not have it and lacked access to medical care.
“The massive job losses in recent months threatened to take away health insurance from millions more, and President Trump is doing everything possible to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would take away health insurance from tens of millions more.”
“Let’s learn the lessons from those who are doing it right.”
Dr. Fauci cautioned that lifting locks prematurely in the US USA It could lead to new virus outbreaks.
Trump has been urging states to lift restrictions to reignite the economy, but Dr. Fauci said it could backfire.
“There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you cannot control and, in fact, paradoxically, it will slow you down, not only causing some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even slow you down the road to try to get the economic recovery, “said Dr. Fauci.