With the number of coronavirus cases rising once again around the nation, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Sunday that America is “not going to control” the pandemic.
In CNN’s State of the Union, he commented, “We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas.”
The Trump administration has been widely criticized for ignoring health experts’ advice to wear masks, social distance and avoid mass gatherings.
According to a source familiar with White House operations, the administration faced its own second coronavirus outbreak within Vice President Mike Pence‘s inner circle. At least five members of the V.P.’s staff have tested positive for the coronavirus.
When asked by Jake Tapper why the U.S. is not going to get the pandemic under control, Meadows explained by saying “because it is a contagious virus just like the flu.”
“What we need to do is make sure that we have the proper mitigation factors, whether it’s therapies or vaccines or treatments to make sure that people don’t die from this,” he added.
