What Trump and Biden think about covid-19 2:01
(CNN Spanish) - The
United States is the country hardest hit by the coronavirus in the world.
Under the government of Donald Trump, the country led the number of confirmed cases (more than 24.2 million) and the number of deaths (more than 401,000).
With the arrival of Joe Biden to the White House there is also a change of tone towards the pandemic.
Biden said five days before his inauguration that, for example, his cabinet will make decisions based on science.
In this episode, Dr. Elmer Huerta reviews what Trump has said and how Joe Biden will face this health crisis as the 46th president of the United States.
You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform, or read the transcript below.
Hello, I am Dr. Elmer Huerta and this is your daily dose of information on the new coronavirus.
Information that we hope will be useful to take care of your health and that of your family.
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Today we will see what to expect from the Joe Biden administration regarding the handling of the pandemic in the United States.
Trump's view on the coronavirus
Despite the incidents and social setbacks of recent weeks, the most important moment of a democracy - the transfer of power - has taken place in the United States.
Donald Trump is no longer president and the new president is Joe Biden.
We think this is a good time to take stock of the handling of the pandemic in the United States, and try to get a glimpse of what awaits the new president.
The first case and the first death confirmed by coronavirus
The first case of covid-19 in the United States was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 20, 2020 and announced the following day.
The first death was announced on February 29, but later it emerged that it had actually occurred on February 26.
But - as we described it in the episode of April 28 - it is possible that the coronavirus had already been circulating long before and the first death was on February 6.
The fact is that, on January 22, the president - who was at the Davos Economic Conference in Switzerland - was interviewed about the appearance of the first case of covid-19 in the United States.
Asked if he was concerned that the disease could turn into a pandemic, he said: "We have it under control."
That was a crucial moment for the subsequent handling of the pandemic in the United States.
That response - and especially the tone and attitude that President Trump showed when responding - indicated that he was minimizing the problem and that he did not take the infection seriously.
From that moment on, and for all the months that followed, Trump showed a denial attitude regarding the seriousness of the pandemic, trying to minimize the problem and discouraging infection prevention measures.
How Trump Downplayed the Coronavirus
It was shocking for that, to hear Trump - which was recorded by journalist Bob Woodward on February 7 - saying that he knew that the disease was much more severe than the flu and that the virus was five times more deadly than the flu. .
Trump admits he downplayed covid-19 5:25
An important point in all these months of the pandemic has been the White House's handling of the scientific aspects of controlling the pandemic.
Little by little, he was displacing the team of scientists that he had called, until on August 12 he appointed Dr. Scott Atlas, a doctor with no experience in epidemiology or infectious diseases, who went on to lead the public instead of those scientists.
The rise of Atlas is attributed to that he shared the beliefs of the president;
that is, that the pandemic could be controlled by causing people to become infected, and that the masks were not useful and infringed on the individual freedom of the person to choose the best for him or her.
Biden's view on the coronavirus
By contrast, Biden has declared - and already appointed - renowned scientists to advise him.
On the other hand, he has said that:
Science will guide all your decisions,
That the masks are not a sign of political militancy and that they will be mandatory in federal government agencies,
Who will politely combat the public's hesitancy to get vaccinated,
And that 100 million people will be vaccinated in the first 100 days of his term.
There is no doubt that there is much hope for the future of handling the pandemic.
For members of the scientific community.
The change of president will be like a change from night to day.
Knowing that the management of a public health problem -such as the pandemic- depends on the success of two types of actions: public health and individual behavior of citizens, it is expected that the new administration can make important changes in both.
Health policies more focused on science and evidence, with a strengthening in case detection and contact tracing and, above all, a significant improvement in the vaccination program, give us hope that citizens can change their behaviors and understand that covid-19 is a disease that can be prevented with the daily use of a mask, maintaining a distance of at least two meters from other people and the hygiene of hands and surfaces.
Do you have questions about the coronavirus?
Send me your questions on Twitter, we will try to answer them in our next episodes.
You can find me at @DrHuerta.
You see that we answer them.
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Thanks for your attention.
coronaviruscovid-19Donald TrumpJoe Biden