Health
experts raise concerns about Pence events after aides test positive for Covid
One expert
said Pence "could be putting people at risk" because he’s at high
risk of becoming infected.
2020.Jeff Kowalsky / AFP - Getty Images
Oct. 25, 2020,
1:10 PM CDT / Source: Associated Press
By The
Associated Press
Health
policy specialists questioned White House officials' claim that federal rules
on essential workers allow Vice President Mike Pence to continue to campaign
and not quarantine himself after being exposed to the coronavirus.
Campaigning
is not an official duty that might fall under the guidelines meant to ensure
that police, first responders and key transportation and food workers can still
perform jobs that cannot be done remotely, the health experts said.
A
Pence aide said Sunday that the vice president would continue to work and
travel, including for campaigning, after his chief of staff and some other
close contacts tested positive. Pence tested negative on Sunday and decided to
keep traveling after consulting White House medical personnel, his aides said.
25, 202000:47
The
move seemed to surprise even President Donald Trump, who initially said that
Pence was quarantining.
That
usually means isolating oneself for 14 days after exposure in case an infection
is developing, to prevent spreading the virus to others.
Pence
was holding a rally Sunday in North Carolina, another one in Minnesota on
Monday and three events in North Carolina and South Carolina on Tuesday. The
most recent numbers show COVID-19 cases are rising in 75% of the country.
On
Sunday, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien told reporters that Pence “is
following all the rules” from federal health officials. He called Pence “an
essential worker” and said, “essential workers going out and campaigning and
voting are about as essential as things we can do as Americans.”
However,
the guidelines on essential workers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention are aimed at folks like police, first responders and key
transportation and food workers.
The
Department of Homeland Security spells out 16 categories of critical
infrastructure workers, including those at military bases, nuclear power sites,
courthouses and public works facilities like dams and water plants.
“I
don’t see campaigning on the list,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for
public health practice at Johns Hopkins University and former Maryland state
health department chief. “Anything that does not have to be done in person and
anything not related to his job as vice president would not be considered
essential.”
Dr.
Thomas Tsai, a health policy specialist at Harvard University, agreed.
Helping
to maintain the function of the executive branch of government could be
considered critical work, but “we’ve always historically separated campaigning
from official duties,” he said.
Pence
also serves as president of the Senate, a largely ceremonial role outlined in
the Constitution but one that stands to come into focus Monday.
The
Senate was expected to vote Monday evening to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court
nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Pence’s vote is unlikely to be needed to break a
tie, but his presence was expected for the vote.
If
Pence’s official work as vice president was considered essential, the CDC
guidelines say he should be closely monitored for COVID-19 symptoms, stay at
least 6 feet from others and wear a mask “at all times while in the workplace.”
Lawrence
Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University school of law, said
Pence’s intention to continue campaigning flouts the spirit of the CDC
guidelines.
Sharfstein
said Pence "could be putting people at risk” because he’s at high risk of
becoming infected.
“He
should quarantine in order to protect other people," Sharfstein said.
Associated
Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington.
