Former FDA commissioner hopeful U.S. can avoid singificant flu season amid pandemic

Scott Gottlieb.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CBS)

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb didn't paint a rosy picture about the future of the coronavirus pandemic Sunday during an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation. He said he anticipates continuous regional epidemics, like the one the Northeast experienced earlier in the year and that Sun Belt states are dealing with now, going forward. Those, he said, will eventually be brought under control, but it seems unlikely that the entire nation will have contained the virus at the same moment in the near future.

Gottlieb did, however, note that Americans can probably take solace in the fact that the upcoming flu season should be relatively mild, as it's been in the Southern Hemisphere.

See more

Experts were concerned about a high amount of flu cases coinciding with another coronavirus resurgence, which potentially could have added even more strain to already fragile health-care systems, not just in the United States, but across the globe. But it sounds like that risk is shrinking.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.