comments Dr. Deborah Birx, President Donald Trump's coronavirus response coordinator, warned the American people that the upcoming December surge in COVID-19 cases will be the "worst public health event" that the country will ever face. That might sound a bit melodramatic — but public health experts Salon spoke with agreed with her stark assessment. Advertisement: During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Birx addressed the fact that US hospitals are struggling to keep up with the influx of patients caused by the coronavirus pandemic and anticipated that things are going to get worse. "This is not just the worst public health event. This is the worst event that this country will face, not just from a public health side," Birx told NBC. She later added, "This fall/winter surge is combining everything that we saw in the spring with everything we saw in the summer — plus the fall surge going into a winter surge. I think that's why Dr. Redfield made this absolute appeal to the American people." This was in reference to a comment last week by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield, who said that the upcoming months will be "the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation."