Donald Trump has accused President Joe Biden of "surrendering" to COVID-19 and participating in China's "coverup" of the virus's origins by neglecting to apply pressure on Beijing.
The former president hailed his administration's coronavirus response in a lengthy year-end newsletter to his supporters on Tuesday, concluding that he managed the pandemic "exceptionally successfully." "It's not even close," he wrote.
Trump uses end-of-year newsletter to accuse Biden
More than two years after SARS-CoV-2 was discovered in Wuhan, China, the world is still no closer to understanding the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, a disease that has claimed the lives of more than 819,000 Americans and 5.4 million people worldwide.
In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump stated that the virus escaped from a Wuhan facility because it was "so evident." After Biden allowed agencies 90 days to check again, the Intelligence Community (IC) discovered evidence of the so-called "lab leak" idea to be inconclusive in August, as per Newsweek.
The former president accused Biden of "bowing down to China" and aiding Beijing's coverup in his newsletter. Trump focused on the United States' COVID-19 death toll, which is the world's highest and has more than doubled since Trump left office in January 2021.
In certain circles, the so-called "lab theory," which suggests that the virus may have accidentally slipped out of a Wuhan lab, has gained support, The Independent reported. President Biden's choice not to conduct a more thorough investigation into the origins of COVID-19 has been questioned by the 75-year-old former president, who published his end-of-year newsletter earlier this week.
Although the US intelligence community issued a report in October suggesting that the evidence for the lab leak idea was unclear, Trump went on Fox News to express his displeasure. Despite the lack of official evidence, he stated on the network that the virus came from a Wuhan lab since it was "so obvious."
Questions remain about COVID-19 origins
Trump then went on to criticize the current president's entire record since taking office, including how he handled the outbreak. To combat the latest Omicron-variant outbreak, Biden is working to fix the lateral flow test scarcity that has plagued his administration as the new variant has spread rapidly throughout the United States.
In December 2019, a group of patients in Wuhan, China, began to develop what was initially classified as unexplained pneumonia, which was eventually recognized as COVID-19 and quickly spread worldwide. To date, 280 million infections have occurred, resulting in 5.4 million fatalities.
Since then, progress against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been rapid: multiple viable vaccines were developed in a single year, significantly faster than the usual four to ten years. Pfizer recently got FDA approval for Paxlovid, a COVID-19 antiviral medicine that the company claims can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by up to 89 percent.
Per CNET via MSN, experts in infectious disease have learned a lot from COVID-19's research and can now swiftly identify mutations like those observed in the delta and omicron variants. However, two years later, as the United States approaches 800,000 COVID-19 fatalities - and tens of millions more infections and hospitalizations - experts are still grappling with some of the most pressing problems. Here's what we know about the new omicron variety and how to receive free at-home testing kits if you want to learn more about COVID-19. Also, learn how to use your phone to save your vaccination card.
Related Article: Joe Biden Outlines Plan To Confront Omicron Variant Surge; President Meets With Governors as States Brace for Holiday Spike
