Deborah Birx: Thousands of U.S. COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented

Former White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx told CNN that she believes that the U.S. coronavirus deaths that occurred after the first surge of cases "could have been mitigated or decreased substantially."

What she's saying: "I look at it this way: There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge," said Birx, who served under the Trump administration. "All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially."

The big picture: During her time on the task force, Birx faced criticism for not publicly pushing back against former President Trump when he openly contradicted medical advice on how to prevent the spread of the virus.

• So far, the virus has killed more than 548,ooo Americans, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

What to watch: The interview was part of a larger CNN documentary with six doctors who were at the center of the country's response to the virus. The documentary airs Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.