Like President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence would rather pretend that the coronavirus is going away even though the pandemic is still very much raging on and the death is only getting higher.
Nearly 120,000 Americans have died from the virus in the last three and a half months, with increases in cases occurring primarily in red states that reopened too early to appease Trump.
On Tuesday, Pence proclaimed in an op-ed that America is winning the fight against the pandemic among a series of other false claims that will end up getting people killed if they don’t continue to take this virus seriously and take all the precautions possible to protect themselves.
That’s why CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta took to Twitter to fact-check Pence thoroughly.
April 27 was the last time there was a White House coronavirus task force briefing, leaving us with more than a month without regular updates from the group Vice President Mike Pence was tapped to lead. (1/24)
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Today, Vice President Pence wrote an op-ed in the @WSJ touting America’s success in fighting the coronavirus writing, “…we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.” Let’s break down some of his claims this week. (2/24)https://t.co/TBMDNlF66W
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
PENCE: “While talk of an increase in cases dominates cable news coverage, more than half of states are actually seeing cases decline or remain stable.” (3/24)
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Yes, compared to last week, 22 states are seeing a decline in daily cases, 10 are stable, but 18 states have an increase of cases. (4/24) pic.twitter.com/0zPe3xcHEH
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
That’s significant because we have states reopening while cases are still on the rise. Remember, the original White House guidelines said states should have a “downward trajectory” of cases or a declining share of positive tests for a 14-day span before gradually opening. (5/24)
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Gupta also took aim at Pence for claiming that the increase in cases is because of increased testing, similar to Trump’s claim that there would be no cases if there were no testing.
PENCE: “Some of the increase in cases you’re seeing in states is a reflection of a dramatic increase in testing.” (6/24)
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
That’s not how this works. This may seem counter intuitive, but if you are doing enough testing, cases should start to go down because you are finding people early before they spread it. Let’s look at a few state examples: (7/24)
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
New York – testing is clearly up and cases are down (8/24) pic.twitter.com/4GVfwkG3vd
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Florida – testing is roughly holding steady and yet cases are climbing. (9/24) pic.twitter.com/lumL06abuf
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Oklahoma – cases are going up while testing has actually been going down (10/24) pic.twitter.com/baIPUjtoLr
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Gupta then ripped Pence for not demanding more testing, and pointed out that instead of a second wave, the United States is still embroiled in the first wave of the virus.
This is true, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project. But that doesn’t mean it’s enough. Researchers at Harvard said we would need 5 mil tests per DAY by early June and 20 mil tests per day by late July to safely reopen (12/24) https://t.co/S02pirCIuM
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
The truth is – we are still in the thick of the first wave, technically, so we cannot even begin talking about what a second wave might look like. Take a look. (14/24) pic.twitter.com/6uLHU1y2mI
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Gupta went on to slam Pence’s claim that Trump has embraced social distancing guidelines.
PENCE: “[President Trump] rallied the American people to embrace social-distancing guidelines.” However, we have seen President Trump continue to publicly demonstrate that he does not wear a mask around others. (16/24)
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
A recent study published in The Lancet emphasized the importance of masks – There’s a 17.4% chance of transmission if you don’t wear a mask or N95, but only a 3.1% chance if you wear a mask. (18/24)https://t.co/v0UswfGDts
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
CDC guidelines for events or gatherings would classify this rally as a high risk event considering it’s indoors, there will be attendees from outside the local area and it’ll be difficult to practice social distancing. (20/24)https://t.co/YbVhu1pk7b
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Contrary to the Vice President’s claims, the state’s infection curve has been rising in recent days. The director of the Tulsa Health Department said he wished the campaign rally would be postponed. (22/24) pic.twitter.com/yCI6p8AGWf
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
We know that the basics – wearing a mask, staying at home, social distancing and washing our hands – work. But we also need testing, contact tracing and government leadership to make sure we can all beat this thing together. (24/24)
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) June 17, 2020
Clearly, Pence is full of crap and his lies about coronavirus are going to make things worse. That’s why Americans should listen to health professionals like Gupta instead of anyone in the White House when it comes to the coronavirus.
Featured Image: Screenshot
