FAUCI REJECTS TRUMP’S CLAIM THAT CORONAVIRUS DEATHS OVERCOUNTED

Two top U. S. health officials on Sunday disputed a claim by President Donald Trump that federal data on COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States is overblown, and both expressed optimism that the pace of vaccinations is picking up.

“The deaths are real deaths,” Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on ABC News’ This Week, adding that jam- packed hospitals and stressed-out health care workers are “not fake. That’s real.”

Fauci and U. S. Surgeon

General Jerome Adams, who appeared on CNN’S State of the Union, defended the accuracy of coronavirus data published by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Trump has frequently has downplayed the severity of the pandemic. He has also scorned and ignored federal recommendations for containing the spread.

More than 20 million people have been infected in the U. S. and nearly 347,000 have died — or one out of every 950 U. S. residents, according to the CDC.