The COVID-19 Task Force was formed on January 29, 2020. But President Trump’s recent announcements of his intent to disband the task force [...] have some Americans outraged, or panicking more than they already were. -- Declan mcmahon, 7th grade
The COVID-19 Task Force was formed on January 29, 2020. But with President Trump’s recent announcements of his intent to disband the task force, his attempts at re-opening the economy, and his invocation of the Defense Protection Act to open the meat-packing industry instead of producing Personal Protective Equipment, has some Americans outraged, or panicking more than they already were.
The COVID-19 White House Task Force is made up of Deborah Birx, coordinator of Response for the task force, Jerome Adams, U.S. Surgeon General, Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and many more. It’s headed by Vice President Mike Pence, who, as many are quick to point out, did not do well in the face of an AIDS outbreak in Indiana when he was a governor. Experts recommended he implemented a clean-needle exchange when the outbreak began, and though it took him five months to declare a state of emergency, he now paints himself as a hero, saying that he “declared a public health emergency [... and] ended the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus in that community.”
The COVID-19 White House Task Force is made up of Deborah Birx, coordinator of Response for the task force, Jerome Adams, U.S. Surgeon General, Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and many more. It’s headed by Vice President Mike Pence, who, as many are quick to point out, did not do well in the face of an AIDS outbreak in Indiana when he was a governor. Experts recommended he implemented a clean-needle exchange when the outbreak began, and though it took him five months to declare a state of emergency, he now paints himself as a hero, saying that he “declared a public health emergency [... and] ended the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus in that community.”
Deborah Birx, Coordinator of Response to the Coronavirus, was relatively unknown before the pandemic. She is a physician, U.S. diplomat, and she served as the United States Global AIDS Coordinator for both the Obama and Trump administrations. She specializes in HIV/AIDS immunization and vaccine research. Pence selected her to be Coordinator of Response for the Task Force in February 2020.
Birx has expressed worry that the CDC has been using inflated data, case rates, and death rates. According to Business Insider, she told CDC Director Robert Redfield, "There is nothing from the CDC that I can trust," in regards to the coronavirus and the CDC’s response, despite her CDC background (director of the CDC's Division of Global HIV/AIDS).
Birx has expressed worry that the CDC has been using inflated data, case rates, and death rates. According to Business Insider, she told CDC Director Robert Redfield, "There is nothing from the CDC that I can trust," in regards to the coronavirus and the CDC’s response, despite her CDC background (director of the CDC's Division of Global HIV/AIDS).
Jerome Adams, added in February 2020, is the U.S. Surgeon General. You may have seen his title on alcohol warnings or new car window stickers. He functions as the head of the PHSCC (U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps) and is the leading spokesperson on matters of health dealt with by the Federal Government. He’s an anesthesiologist and before 2017, he was the Indiana State Health Commissioner, appointed by Pence in 2014. Adams was partly responsible for Indiana's failure to communicate to the people of Scott County that there was an HIV/AIDS outbreak in their midst until January 2015, three months after it began.
Anthony Fauci is the name on everyone’s lips since the pandemic began. He’s an immunologist and physician. He is also the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He has been with the Task Force since day one, and he’s become a de facto public health informant during the pandemic, quick to tamp down Trump's claims that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine is a cure for the virus. A recent poll conducted by Business Insider has shown that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the two most trusted leaders are New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force says they were formed to “coordinate and oversee the Administration's efforts to monitor, prevent, contain, and mitigate the spread of coronavirus.” But when it gets down to it, what do they do?
Well, it turns out they haven’t done much. They are doing work on the testing, and developing vaccines. But they are also working closely with the government to provide funding for relief efforts, stimulus checks, and keeping the economy afloat. And yet, the Task Force is not without its critics, like Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, who has actively opposed stimulus checks backed by the Force.
So, if the COVID Task Force has been doing generally positive things, why is Trump trying to shut them down?
Well, ever since a quarantine was imposed, stocks have generally plummeted due to panic selling, and Trump, backing his re-election on his economy, that as he said as of February was the “envy of the world” and at it’s “highest in the history of the country,” (which is not true). So, if he’s backing re-election on a strong economy, it makes sense that he’d want to re-open the economy and the country.
As the New York Times reports, “In heavily political remarks after a tour [of an Arizonan factory], the president said that ‘our country is now in the next stage of the battle’ against the virus and ‘now we are reopening our country.’” His focus has shifted to re-opening the economy, and he says he will be “winding down” the Task Force.
If you have any questions about the coronavirus, visit the CDC's page for info. Another great page for coronavirus related links, other federal websites, and unemployment questions is USA.gov. Good luck!
Well, it turns out they haven’t done much. They are doing work on the testing, and developing vaccines. But they are also working closely with the government to provide funding for relief efforts, stimulus checks, and keeping the economy afloat. And yet, the Task Force is not without its critics, like Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, who has actively opposed stimulus checks backed by the Force.
So, if the COVID Task Force has been doing generally positive things, why is Trump trying to shut them down?
Well, ever since a quarantine was imposed, stocks have generally plummeted due to panic selling, and Trump, backing his re-election on his economy, that as he said as of February was the “envy of the world” and at it’s “highest in the history of the country,” (which is not true). So, if he’s backing re-election on a strong economy, it makes sense that he’d want to re-open the economy and the country.
As the New York Times reports, “In heavily political remarks after a tour [of an Arizonan factory], the president said that ‘our country is now in the next stage of the battle’ against the virus and ‘now we are reopening our country.’” His focus has shifted to re-opening the economy, and he says he will be “winding down” the Task Force.
If you have any questions about the coronavirus, visit the CDC's page for info. Another great page for coronavirus related links, other federal websites, and unemployment questions is USA.gov. Good luck!
