President Joe Biden sought to clarify his declaration that the pandemic is "over" after facing backlash from patients, physicians and health experts this week, The Hill reported Sept. 20.
During a Sept. 20 fundraising event for the Democratic National Committee in New York City, President Biden acknowledged the criticisms and said the COVID-19 crisis has become less severe. "It basically is not where it was," he said.
The clarification comes after President Biden said "the pandemic is over" during a CBS News 60 Minutes interview on Sept. 18.
"The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it," he said. "But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it's changing."
The comments spurred pushback from physicians and health experts who pointed to the nation's high COVID-19 death rate and widespread transmission as signs that the pandemic is not over. Some COVID-19 survivors who are still facing debilitating, long-term symptoms were also displeased with the comments and protested outside the White House Sept. 19, demanding more research on the diagnosis and treatment of long COVID-19.