U.S. surgeon general says Biden was touting 'tremendous progress' against COVID with 'pandemic is over' claim

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U.S. Surgeon General attempts to explain Biden's 'pandemic is over' claim on 'Morning Joe'

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Tuesday that President Biden was touting the "tremendous success" the country has made against COVID by claiming that the "pandemic is over" during his "60 Minutes" interview.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy tried to explain President Biden's comments from his interview with "60 Minutes" during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Tuesday. 

"Morning Joe" co-host Willie Geist asked Murthy if the pandemic was over, referring to the president's comments during the interview with CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley.

"What the president is reflecting is the fact that we have made tremendous progress against COVID-19. We’re in a very different place now than we were at the beginning of this pandemic, with significantly lower death rates. We have all of our children back in school, people able to go back to work, families and friends able to see each other. But he also said we have more work to do on COVID, and that's right. And that’s what Dr. Fauci and others have expressed as well," Murthy responded. 

Murthy said the U.S. was losing 400 people per day to the COVID-19 virus and added that many were dealing with side effects from long COVID.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy responds to President Biden's claim that the pandemic is over. (Screenshot/MSNBC/MorningJoe)

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"We need to understand more about long COVID and how to prevent it, and we also thankfully have a new updated vaccine that’s available that can extend people’s protection, strengthen their protection against the worst outcomes of COVID. We need people to take that vaccine. So there’s more work to do, no doubt. We are in a much better place than we were at the beginning of this pandemic," Murthy said. 

Geist said that people were treating it like it was over and asked what people should take from the president's claim. Biden said during his "60 Minutes" interview that "the pandemic is over" but that the U.S. still has a problem with the virus. 

"We're still doing a lot of work on it," Biden said. "If you notice, no one's wearing a mask, everybody seems to be in pretty good shape." 

Murthy told Geist that people should feel "encouraged" by the progress the country has made in responding to the pandemic. 

U.S. President Joe Biden departs from Holy Spirit Catholic Church after attending Mass on St. Johns Island, South Carolina, U.S., August 13, 2022. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

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"I feel optimistic about how far we've come. We may forget just what it was like two years ago when schools were shut down, when people were not going to work, when we were worried about our own health and safety and the safety of those around us. But right now, if you are updated on your vaccines and if you are a high-risk individual who uses a medication like Paxlovid when you get COVID-19, your chances of dying from COVID are remarkably low. And that is hard-fought progress," he said. 

Murthy added he was worried about the country sustaining their "investment in COVID."

"So what we can do is look at this like an on and off switch. Like, COVID has disappeared, you know we've made tremendous progress, but we have work to do that’s going to require ongoing investment from Congress, ongoing investment in our country, so that we can continue to make sure everybody in our country has the protection that they need from COVID-19," he said. 

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President Biden is taking heat from the liberal press for his comments about the pandemic being over. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Washington Post editorial board called out Biden's comments on Monday and said the U.S. was "not there yet."

"Perhaps the biggest worry stemming from Mr. Biden’s comment is that it will further undermine political resolve in Congress to keep up the fight against covid. Already, Mr. Biden’s request for additional funding for vaccines, diagnostic testing and therapeutics has languished. If complacency and fatigue continue to take over, the nation won’t be prepared for a new variant just when it is most needed," the editorial board wrote.