Dr. Anthony Fauci, the lead infectious disease expert in the U.S., was asked whether the nation has the worst COVID outbreak, and he said, “Numbers don’t lie.”

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviewed the doctor at a Harvard School of Public Health forum. Dr. Gupta asked, “We're not quite 5% of the world's population, yet represent 20-25% of the world's infections ... I mean, that has to be the worst. Is it not the worst?" 

Dr. Fauci responded, “Yeah, it is quantitatively if you look at it, it is. I mean the numbers don't lie.”

The doctors are looking at infections per capita. Of course, we could look at other measures. In this interview, President Trump considers the number of deaths as a percentage of those infected.

Discussion:

• Do numbers lie? Can they? What about this book: How to Lie with Statistics?

• Find evidence to both support and dispute the claim that the U.S. is the “worst.” What measures can you find? Which do you find more meaningful?