This Winter America Will See More ‘Deaths per Day Than 9/11 or Pearl Harbor,’ CDC Director Says

The dark winter that health officials warned about is upon us.

As news of the coming Covid-19 vaccines has brought optimism that the pandemic may be manageable in the near future, the grim reality of the daily mounting death toll will be with us for at least the next few months, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said.

As Redfield spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday — a day after a record 3,253 died from the virus, and by day’s end another 2,902 US deaths were reported — the doctor painted a sober picture of what the nation will continue to face in the coming months.

“Probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we’re going to have more deaths per day than we had on 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor,” Redfield said.

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The comparison is devastating; 2,996 people were killed on 9/11 and 2,403 died during the attack on Pearl Harbor. At the current pace, the country will surpass 300,000 deaths from the virus by next week.

A somber Redfield added more context to what Americans are facing, saying that the virus is currently responsible for more deaths in the US than any other illness.

“It’s very sobering to realize that in the United States today, Covid-19 is now the leading cause of death. Surpassing heart disease and other causes of death,” Redfield said.

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield sounds utterly defeated as he goes over U.S. COVID metrics. pic.twitter.com/tNyscoh6lQ

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Dr. Anthony Fauci agreed with Redfield’s assessment, saying that the Americans are just now seeing the predictable spike in cases following the Thanksgiving holiday.

Redfield said the vaccine won’t be available in time to halt what is here and coming this winter.

“The reality is the vaccine approval this week is not going to really impact [the rising numbers of deaths] to any degree for the next 60 days,” Dr. Robert Redfield said.