Fact Check Of The Pence-Harris Debate: Is The US Handling Of COVID-19 As Good As Trump's And Pence's Claims?

Trump and Pence (Source: Instagram / @ realdonaldtrump)

JAKARTA - The handling of the United States (US) COVID-19 pandemic under the Trump administration has become one of the most heated topics in the debate between two vice presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. Harris attacked a lot. From official steps from the authorities to Trump's personal, who often show a disregard for the pandemic situation. Pence defended his camp. However, what is the true situation of the US pandemic today?

The debate started when moderator Susan Page raised questions about what the Trump administration, including Biden, is doing in fighting the pandemic. Page also reminded the death toll of US citizens due to the corona virus which reached 210 thousand.

Must highlight that number. He criticized the White House for failing to act quickly from the start of the pandemic. "They know what's going on and they don't tell you. They know, and they cover it up," Harris said.

Pence defends his colleagues at the White House. According to him, the US government has taken all necessary steps to minimize the impact of the pandemic, even end it. Pence even said the Biden administration would not have fared better under the same risks.

"Our nation is going through a very challenging time this year, but I want the American people to know that from day one, President Trump has put the health of the American people first," said Pence.

After all, Pence is an easy target for Harris in the debate over coronavirus. Trump's campaign over the false dangers of COVID-19 weighs on Biden, who sits opposite Harris.

As is known, Trump, a few days ago, was confirmed by the corona virus. Within days, Trump was discharged from the hospital without any information on whether he had recovered or not. In fact, after being discharged from the hospital, Trump immediately issued an appeal so that the US public would not be afraid of COVID-19.

US conditions

In just eight months, COVID-19 has killed more Americans than the flu that has occurred during the past five flu seasons combined. The coronavirus is also much more contagious than the flu.

Research shows that a person with the flu infects an average of about 1.28 other people. Meanwhile, someone with COVID-19 infects about two to three other people on average. And without mitigation measures, such as social distancing and other health protocols, the spread would be much more severe.

Additionally, the coronavirus can spread for days without symptoms. The incubation period for flu is much shorter. This means that people who have the flu tend to start feeling sick earlier and are able to avoid contact with other people. Not so COVID-19.

Trump also briefly mentioned a flu vaccine that could be used for COVID-19. Trump cited experts about the flu vaccine, which could reduce the number of deaths drastically. However, expert statements refer to handling flu, not COVID-19.

Facebook even removed Trump's post, marking it as misinformation. However, it seems that it has no effect on Trump's approach. His advice is not to let the coronavirus "dominate your life" affect a lot of people, both those for and against.

All Trump narratives are refuted by a number of facts. First, the spread of the corona virus in the White House. Stephen Miller, Trump's top policy adviser, became the latest White House official to test positive. After working from home for a few days, Miller showed up yesterday for work and tested positive. A CNN source said.

Despite the growing transmission, the White House turned down the CDC's offer to assist with investigations into anything about the outbreak. As well as the White House outbreak, the Pentagon is also listed as being in danger, after nearly everyone attending the meeting in the Safe Room was quarantined. Only one was clean, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Furthermore, related to a recent study which stated that most of the COVID-19 patients hospitalized had neurological symptoms. The study, published in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, said that more than 4/5 COVID-19 patients in nine hospitals in the Chicago area experienced health problems, such as muscle pain, headaches, encephalopathy and dizziness.

Regarding vaccines, the US Food and Drug Administration explained that they wanted to see follow-up data in the past two months since the second dose of vaccine was injected into the volunteers. This is related to Trump's request that the vaccine distribution process be carried out with special legislation products before election day.

This is considered difficult, because it is impossible for any vaccine maker to authorize emergency use for election day.

Back on Trump's policies. He recently canceled talks about the coronavirus stimulus. The decision is a major blow to millions of Americans who are still unemployed and those small businesses and big airlines struggling to survive.