New York Times: “Dr. Deborah Birx, who helped run the coronavirus pandemic response for former President Donald J. Trump, told congressional investigators earlier this month that Trump’s White House failed to take steps that could have prevented tens of thousands of deaths. In closed-door testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Birx said that tens of thousands of deaths could have been prevented after the initial phase of the pandemic if Trump had pushed mask-wearing, social distancing and other efforts to slow the spread of the virus.”

“‘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 testified, according to excerpts provided by the committee. The committee’s interview with Birx was conducted on Oct. 12 and 13. In her testimony, she also lashed out at Dr. Scott Atlas, a former Stanford neuroradiologist who became an adviser to Trump and advocated for allowing the virus to spread through much of the population in order to let otherwise healthy people build up immunity against it. She told the committee that Atlas had relied on incomplete information to draw dangerous conclusions that she felt could have long-term consequences for people who were infected with the virus and got sick.”