Dr. Rasmussen: We need elected leadership with ‘decided public health plan’
Nov 3, 2020, 3:25 PM | Updated: Oct 7, 2024, 9:13 am
People vote at the Brooklyn Armory during early voting on October 28, 2020 in New York City. Election officials are trying to ensure that the voting process is both safe and efficient due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Eight months into the pandemic, we may be entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of it, according the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s Dr. Deborah Birx.
Dr. Birx spoke out this week, emphasizing the need for “an aggressive, balanced approach that is not being implemented.”
Columbia virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen told KIRO Radio’s Gee & Ursula Show that she agrees with Dr. Birx.
“While I’ve had my differences with some of her approaches in the past, I completely agree with that,” she said. “I think that for some communities, a lockdown may be necessary, but I think that’s extremely unlikely to happen just because there won’t be the type of support that is needed to help people get through a lockdown.”
“I think what she’s talking about is that we need to make sure that we are implementing as many other measures as possible to reduce community transmission, so that means staying home as much as possible, potentially making some sacrifices around the holidays, not getting together with people outside of your household or your quarantine pod, not traveling long distances, making sure that we’re really taking as many precautions as we can to avoid exposing each other and to reduce our own exposure risk,” Rasmussen added.
WA Secretary of State confident we’ll see meaningful results on election night
On Election Day, the good news Rasmussen had to share with KIRO listeners is that voting turnout is at record levels even with the ongoing pandemic. Dr. Rasmussen says, for her, electing leadership with a public health plan more important than ever this year.
“We really need to make sure that to end this pandemic as well as prevent pandemics and respond to them effectively in the future, we need leadership that has a decided public health plan,” she said. “So, for me, that’s Joe Biden. I know many other people may disagree, but what is important is that people are getting out there and voting on this issue.”
She ended by telling everyone listening that “whoever you vote for, just get out there and vote.”
Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
