More than 130,000 American lives could have been saved with swifter action and better coordinated public health messages after the virus’ first wave, Birx told lawmakers.

“I believe if we had fully implemented the mask mandates, the reduction in indoor dining, the getting friends and family to understand the risk of gathering in private homes, and we had increased testing, that we probably could have decreased fatalities into the 30-percent less, to 40-percent less range,” Birx said.

More than 735,000 Americans have died from coronavirus-related complications since the pandemic began, including more than 300,000 since President Biden took office.

Birx earlier this year told reporters about the difficulty of responding to the pandemic during an election year. Asked to elaborate on her prior comments, Birx told the subcommittee that some officials “were actively campaigning and not as present in the White House as previously.” —Washiington Post