Pence, Tasked With Handling Coronavirus, Once Mishandled an HIV Outbreak

The vice president has a pretty bad track record when it comes to dealing with the spread of infectious diseases.

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Getty Images

President Trump announced Wednesday night that Vice President Mike Pence was tasked with leading the response to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the U.S. But critics have pointed out that Pence has a pretty bad track record on handling the spread of infectious diseases.

Pence’s policies as governor in Indiana lead to the worst HIV outbreak in the state’s history. The 2015 outbreak was linked to the sharing of drug needles—which could have been curbed with a needle exchange program, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC had advised Pence to start the program, but he only obliged after infections in Indiana had skyrocketed. Under Pence’s leadership, the state was also spending 5% of what several other states spend on public health.

Critics have also noted that Pence’s questionable healthcare decisions aren’t confined to Indiana. He has repeatedly pushed policies to stifle Planned Parenthood—a champion for public reproductive healthcare. He also fought to repeal Obamacare and has controversial stances on many other health issues—from smoking to daycare.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out Trump’s decision to put Pence in charge on Twitter, saying, “It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic.”

During the Wednesday news conference, Trump attempted to downplay the virus, claiming that the risk of an outbreak occurring in the U.S. is “very low.”

“The risk to the American people remains very low," he said "We're very, very ready for this — for anything."

But CDC official Nancy Messonnier told reporters on Tuesday that the viruses spread in the U.S. was essentially inevitable.

You can learn more about Mike Pence below in our newest episode of Who Is? The Podcast.