Biden adviser: ‘We are in the most dangerous public health period since 1918’

A member of President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisory board warned that the U.S. was “in the most dangerous public health period since 1918,” the date of the Spanish flu pandemic.

“Our job is to imagine what the world could be like if we do make the changes we need to make. We’re going to be heading to a vaccine in the next few months, where we can start to imagine having summer baseball back, barbecues, et cetera,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“But in the meantime, we are in a very dangerous period, the most dangerous public health period since 1918,” he added. “And if we don’t basically take important steps like stop swapping air with our, our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, we’re going to see these numbers grow substantially.”

TODAY: Dr. Michael Osterholm says “our future is in our hands.” #MTP #IfItsSunday@Mtosterholm: “If we don’t … stop swapping air with our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, we are going to see these number grow substantially.” pic.twitter.com/TC3ZSNnGzW

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 15, 2020

“[I]t’s critical that we do get the help of the federal government, and I can’t make that any more straightforward than that. If we’re going to control this virus out in our communities right now, we’re going to have to support those who are going to be suffering economically,” Osterholm added.

Osterholm went on to urge support for the nation’s governors while “there is no national leadership on this issue.”

“They’re trying.  I don’t care if they’re Democrat or Republican, they’re trying and we’ve got to support them and these issues,” he added.