An MSNBC medical contributor estimated a 15% to 20% mortality rate in the United States if the coronavirus disease continues to spread.
While appearing on an MSNBC panel on Monday, Dr. Joseph Fair, a virologist and epidemiologist, said he anticipated that 80% of those suffering from COVID-19 would survive but claimed the elderly and those with underlying conditions have a relatively high chance of dying.
“Getting testing up and running in every place we can, in every city, in every public health laboratory around the country is key for us to understand how widespread this epidemic is. This is not to fearmonger. This is, it would be irresponsible for us to create panic when it’s undue,” Fair said.
“That being said, we know 80% of the population is going to survive, and a typically a 15-20% rate of mortality for those individuals that are both elderly or have underlying conditions,” he continued.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that the virus’s mortality rate spikes as the age group increases. According to China, those from age 70-79 have an 8% chance of dying, and those over 80 have nearly a 15% chance of dying.
“I can say pretty much with certainty that each one of us, everyone in this country, knows someone with those underlying conditions,” Fair claimed. “So this is not a political thing. It’s going to affect voters on the Left, the Right, and people that don’t even vote, so we need to take it seriously, and even if you yourself are going to be okay, you still have the potential and are infecting others that are not going to be okay.”
The virus that causes COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China, has disrupted public affairs as the illness continues to spread. More than 500 cases and 22 deaths have been confirmed in the United States. Globally, more than 111,000 people have been infected across every continent except Antarctica.
So far, neither the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the World Health Organization has categorized the virus as an epidemic, but certain media entities have upped their rhetoric. On Monday, CNN announced that the network would begin referring to the COVID-19 virus as an “epidemic,” but Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the network’s chief medical correspondent, said that he believed the rhetorical shift “should not cause panic.”
