There is "no doubt" that COVID-19 is worse than the seasonal flu, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, contradicting a claim made by President Donald Trump.
"When you look at the impact of COVID-19 on the general population at all ages for morbidity and mortality, compared to a seasonal flu, there's absolutely no doubt, no doubt at all, that this COVID-19, with its 210,000 deaths in the United States, 1 million deaths globally, 7-plus million infections in the United States, is far more serious than a seasonal flu, no doubt about that," Fauci said on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports."
Earlier this week, Trump seemed to compare the coronavirus to the flu, saying that the flu sometimes kills 100,000 people every year. Twitter flagged the post for misinformation, as the numbers indicate that around 36,000 Americans die every year of the flu.
COVID-19 has killed more than 1 million worldwide, including in excess of 212,000 Americans.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also addressed Trump's battle with the coronavirus, during which he spent three days in the hospital before returning to the White House Monday evening. Trump said he doesn't think he's contagious anymore, but Fauci noted that might not be an accurate statement.
"One of the issues that we all have to be aware — and his physicians are aware of this — that the history of COVID-19 is that you could look and feel like you're doing reasonably well, and, after a couple of days, you could have a downturn, namely, have a reversal," Fauci said. "That's possible."
He added, "If the president goes 10 days without symptoms, and they do the tests that we were talking about, then you could make the assumption, based on good science, that he is not infected.
"But you will just have to wait and make sure you go through those particular benchmarks that are delineated in the CDC guidelines."
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