White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Monday that "approximately 400 Americans are still dying every day" from the virus.
In a briefing with reporters, he added, "Most deaths are happening in people who are not up to date with their vaccines. It is critical that people get out and get vaccinated."
"I do expect that, as all these national labs now come online as they have over the last week, I would not be surprised if we see an increase in cases as testing becomes more robust," said Jha. "That’s a very normal part of any outbreak response, that as testing ramps up, you tend to see an increase in cases."
Jha was also asked why President Joe Biden’s physician was not present at the press briefing in order to provide an update about Biden’s condition after he tested positive for COVID-19.
"You’ve heard every day from the President’s personal physician, through his detailed account of his assessment, his plan…the bottom line is the President has had, thankfully because he’s double vaccinated and double boosted, he’s had a relatively mild upper respiratory infection, and in that context, we have provided an extraordinary amount of transparency, about his care, when he tested positive, how he’s done each day, the evolving nature of his symptoms…we’ve been very very open and transparent with all of that data."