Pence To Sign Off On All Coronavirus Messaging; White House Says Move Isn’t Intended To Muzzle Health Officials

The New York Times: Pence Will Control All Coronavirus Messaging From Health Officials
The White House moved on Thursday to tighten control of coronavirus messaging by government health officials and scientists, directing them to coordinate all statements and public appearances with the office of Vice President Mike Pence, according to several officials familiar with the new approach. But on a day that the White House sought to display a more disciplined strategy to the administration’s communications about the virus, Mr. Trump used an evening event honoring African-American History Month to rail against the news media, claiming it is overstating the threat, and to congratulate himself for keeping the number of cases low. (Shear and Haberman, 2/27)

The Washington Post: Pence Seizes Control Of Coronavirus Response Amid Criticism Of His Qualifications
Vice President Pence tried to project a sense of steady control over the government’s response to the coronavirus Thursday, even as he faced fresh questions about his qualifications for the role and criticism over his handling of an HIV outbreak while he was governor of Indiana. Pence appointed a doctor, Ambassador Debbie Birx, to serve as White House response coordinator for the virus, enforced tight control of the government’s public communications and added new members to a task force aimed at containing the spread of the outbreak. (Olorunnipa, Dawsey and Abutaleb, 2/27)

Politico: After Fumbled Messaging, Trump Gets A Coronavirus Czar By Another Name
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, Pence said “we are ready for anything” to fight coronavirus. “I promise you, this president, this administration, is going to work with leaders in both parties. We'll work with leaders across this nation, at the state and local level. And this president will always put the health and safety of America first.” Birx's appointment marked the latest swerve by the White House in assigning responsibility to tackle the burgeoning public health crisis. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Trump said “we have it totally under control” and maintained “it’s going to be just fine.” The virus has since exploded globally from China to nearly 50 countries, with more worries emerging inside the U.S. (Cancryn, Forgey and Diamond, 2/27)

The Hill: Pence Taps Career Health Official To Coordinate White House Coronavirus Response 
"She has deep experience in coordinating across agencies," Pence's office said in announcing Birx's new role. "She has worked from the research bench to the clinic, but understands the primary focus must always be to reach the individuals most in need. She will bring her infectious disease, immunologic, vaccine research and interagency coordinating capacity to this position. (Samuels, 2/27)

The Wall Street Journal: White House Wants Signoff On Coronavirus Messaging
The administration has struggled to provide a consistent message on the coronavirus threat as it tries to improve coordination between federal agencies and states amid growing public concern. On Wednesday, President Trump put Mr. Pence in charge of federal coronavirus-response efforts, and on Thursday, Mr. Pence named Debbie Birx, who currently coordinates America’s global efforts to curb HIV and AIDS, as White House coronavirus-response coordinator. On Thursday, the president praised his administration’s response, saying that the U.S. effort had been “incredible.” He argued imposing travel restrictions was the right thing to do, and suggested it was a miracle only 15 cases had been diagnosed in the U.S. (Restuccia and Armour, 2/27)

The New York Times: What Has Mike Pence Done In Health?
When President Trump announced Wednesday that Vice President Pence would take charge of the nation’s coronavirus response, he repeatedly touted the “great health care” in Indiana during Mr. Pence’s time as governor there, adding, “He’s got a certain talent for this.” So what does Mr. Pence’s record on health care look like? He has no training or expertise in health policy. Paradoxically, the two health initiatives that he got the most attention for in Indiana are actions that many in the Republican Party have strongly opposed. (Goodnough, 2/27)

The Associated Press: Pence's Handling Of 2015 HIV Outbreak Gets New Scrutiny
President Donald Trump's choice of Vice President Mike Pence to oversee the nation's response to the new coronavirus threat is bringing renewed scrutiny to the former governor's handling of an HIV outbreak in southern Indiana when he was governor. Pence reluctantly agreed to authorize a needle exchange program in Scott County in March 2015 after the epidemic centered there saw the number of people infected with HIV skyrocket, with nearly 200 people eventually testing positive for the virus that year. (Callahan and Davies, 2/27)

ABC News: As He Leads Coronavirus Response, Pence Criticized For Handling Of HIV Outbreak While Indiana's Governor 
President Donald Trump's announcement that Vice President Mike Pence has the experience to lead the administration's coronavirus response has raised questions around Pence's handling of a major health crisis when he was governor of Indiana. "He’s got a certain talent for this," Trump said at Wednesday's White House briefing as he sought to reassure the public on how the White House is dealing with the virus, which has infected at least 60 Americans so far. (Cathey, 2/27)

In related news from KHN: Five Years Later, HIV-Hit Town Rebounds. But The Nation Is Slow To Heed Lessons.

The Hill: Pence Talks Coronavirus With Cuomo, Newsom, Other Governors 
Vice President Pence on Thursday spoke to Republican and Democratic governors across the country to update them on the White House's efforts to address the coronavirus. Pence, who a day earlier was tapped to oversee the federal government's response to the disease, spoke with Govs. Larry Hogan (R-Md.), Greg Abbott (R-Texas), Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), according to an administration official. (Samuels, 2/27)

Reuters: Exclusive: U.S. Mulls Using Sweeping Powers To Ramp Up Production Of Coronavirus Protective Gear
President Donald Trump's administration is considering invoking special powers through a law called the Defense Production Act to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of protective masks and clothing to combat the coronavirus in the United States, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The use of the law, passed by Congress in 1950 at the outset of the Korean War, would mark an escalation of the administration's response to the outbreak. The virus first surfaced in China and has since spread to other countries including the United States. (Hesson and Alper, 2/27)

Los Angeles Times: Lawmakers Press Health Officials On Coronavirus Preparations
Fearful that more Americans may have coronavirus than is known, senior Trump administration officials told Congress on Thursday they are speeding distribution of testing kits to better assess the risk of a widespread outbreak in the United States. But the assurances from Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, did not quell lawmakers’ criticism that the White House hasn’t adequately prepared for a potential public health crisis. (Levey and Haberkorn, 2/27)

ProPublica: Key Missteps At The CDC Have Set Back Its Ability To Detect The Potential Spread Of Coronavirus
As the highly infectious coronavirus jumped from China to country after country in January and February, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lost valuable weeks that could have been used to track its possible spread in the United States because it insisted upon devising its own test. The federal agency shunned the World Health Organization test guidelines used by other countries and set out to create a more complicated test of its own that could identify a range of similar viruses. But when it was sent to labs across the country in the first week of February, it didn’t work as expected. The CDC test correctly identified COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. But in all but a handful of state labs, it falsely flagged the presence of the other viruses in harmless samples. (Chen, Allen, Churchill and Arnsdorf, 2/28)