In an interview on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, President Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic is “over” in the United States.
“The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lotta work on it. … But the pandemic is over,” Mr. Biden said.
The interview was done as he walked the floor of the Detroit Auto Show last week. Gesturing around the hall, Mr. Biden observed, “If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it.”
The remark contradicts statements made by his own aides earlier this month, as they have urged Americans to seek out an updated boosterahead of a feared fall and winter wave of the virus.
COVID-19 deaths are still averaging around 400 a day nationwide, levels that federal health officials have decried as “still too high.”
Officials have also signaled that a public health emergency declaration for COVID-19 is expected to be renewed at least once more this year.
But COVID restrictions have been largely eliminated in the U.S. by local health departments and travel is back at pre-pandemic levels.
