Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
One Of Indiana's Worst Public Health Crises Happened Under Pence. Critics Ask, Can He Handle A Coronavirus Outbreak?
The Washington Post: Vice President Pence, Criticized Over Handling Of Indiana HIV Outbreak, Will Lead U.S. Coronavirus Response
When President Trump announced that Vice President Pence would lead federal efforts against the spread of the coronavirus, he said the Pence was the right person for the task because of his experience. “He’s got a certain talent for this,” Trump said at a White House briefing about the virus, which has infected nearly five dozen people in the United States so far. The announcement has cast light on Pence’s record as a lawmaker and his handling of a major public health crisis during his time as governor of Indiana. The worst HIV outbreak in the state’s history happened on his watch in 2015, which critics blamed on Pence’s belated response and his opposition to authorizing a needle-exchange program. (Kornfield, 2/27)
The Hill: Trump Passes Pence A Dangerous Buck
Now, Pence faces two potential outcomes: If the virus does not spread within the country, he will win credit for leadership in a time of crisis, Trump's thanks for confronting a threat to the ticket's re-election hopes this year, and potentially a major chit toward his own hopes of running for president in what appears to be an increasingly crowded field of Republicans vying for a post-Trump nomination in 2024. But if the virus does begin spreading widely within the United States, Pence risks taking the blame. Trump has already falsely castigated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for supposedly raising fears about the virus, and there is little to suggest he would not blame Pence for a widespread outbreak if it meant he perceived avoiding blame himself. (Wilson, 2/26)
Politico: Trump’s CDC Chief Faces Increasingly Harsh Scrutiny
Robert Redfield was a well-known AIDS researcher and favorite of Christian conservatives when President Donald Trump picked him to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018, where he has helped implement sweeping plans to fight HIV and opioids in the United States while pushing to tackle Ebola abroad. But confronted by the increasingly global coronavirus outbreak, CDC and Redfield’s actions are now under intense scrutiny — both inside and outside the administration. (Diamond, 2/26)
Politico: U.S. Isn’t Ready To Detect Stealth Coronavirus Spread
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention isn’t yet ready to detect whether the coronavirus is spreading across the country. Just 12 of more than 100 public health labs in the U.S. are currently able to diagnose the coronavirus because of problems with a test developed by the CDC, potentially slowing the response if the virus starts taking hold here. The faulty test has also delayed a plan to widely screen people with symptoms of respiratory illness who have tested negative for influenza to detect whether the coronavirus may be stealthily spreading. (Lim, 2/26)
NBC News: Trump Cuts To National Security Staff May Hurt Coronavirus Response, Former Officials Say
President Donald Trump's decision to downsize the White House national security staff — and eliminate jobs addressing global pandemics — is likely to hamper the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus, according to veterans of past disease outbreaks and experts who have studied them. "This is why you have a National Security Council," said John Gans, a former Pentagon speechwriter who wrote a book about the NSC, which has long been the principal advisory body inside the White House for national security affairs. "The changes have made it much harder for the NSC to do this." (Strickler and Dilanian, 2/26)
Meanwhile, 2020 candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been vocal in her criticism of the administration's response —
The New York Times: Democratic Candidates Take Aim At Trump’s Coronavirus Effort
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called Wednesday for the federal government to redirect money from the construction of President Trump’s border wall and put it toward the containment of the fast-spreading coronavirus. “I’m going to be introducing a plan tomorrow to take every dime that the president is now taking to spend on his racist wall at the southern border and divert it to the coronavirus,” Ms. Warren said on a CNN town hall program from Charleston, S.C., joining her opponents in the Democratic presidential primary in excoriating the Trump administration’s response to the threat. (Ruiz, 2/27)
Politico: Warren Calls On Trump Admin To Explain Process For Bringing Back Americans Infected By Coronavirus
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is calling on Trump administration officials to explain its handling of the evacuation of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, after 14 passengers infected with the coronavirus flew on a plane with other travelers despite a warning from the Centers for Disease Control. The infected passengers were among the 300 Americans evacuated from the cruise ship in Japan and flown home earlier this month. (Levine, 2/26)
