Post submitted by Lucas Acosta (he/him), former Deputy Director of Communications, Politics

Vice President Mike Pence was named the Chair of the Coronavirus Task Force in February, and since then, nearly 7.5 million Americans have contracted the virus with more than 210,000 having died from COVID-19.

While serving as Governor of Indiana, Pence exacerbated an HIV crisis by slow-walking possible solutions, flexing his far-right zeal for defunding health care providers like Planned Parenthood seeking to resolve the problem, and ignoring the growing problem. With more than 20 new cases diagnosed every week at the time, Pence failed Hoosiers who needed swift and strong action to combat the health crisis.

Pence Dodged A Question About Where People Can Obtain Health Insurance During COVID19 Pandemic rather than inform the public about their options under the ACA.

Pence Denied Trump Ever Belittled The Dangers Of Coronavirus

Pence Blamed The CDC For The Trump Administration’s Slow Response On The Coronavirus Pandemic.

Studies show LGBTQ people more frequently have risk factors that make them vulnerable to the worst effects of COVID-19 and have a harder time accessing care than the general population

• LGBTQ people’s higher rate of cancer, HIV, and tobacco usage make them more vulnerable to severe complications from COVID-19, an upper respiratory disease that attacks immune deficiencies
• LGBTQ people experience discrimination in health care settings, making it harder for them to seek care when they need it

LGBTQ people have faced a higher rate of pay cuts, reduced hours and household budgets, and say they are “much worse off” thanks to Trump’s COVID-19 response

LGBTQ people are more likely to have experienced a cut in work hours, and are more likely to feel their personal finances are in worse shape due to the pandemic. They are also more likely to trust public health officials and are less likely to trust President Trump’s leadership.

• 30% of LGBTQ respondents have had their work hours reduced, compared to 22% of the general population
• 20% of LGBTQ people say their personal finances are “much worse off” than they were a year ago, compared to only 11% of the general population
• 42% of LGBTQ people have adjusted their household budgets, compared to 30% of the general population

As the HIV/AIDS problem grew, Pence ignored it and further exacerbated it by failing to act

Gregorio Millett, director of public policy at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, an advocacy and research group called Indiana’s HIV outbreak actions “entirely preventable.” (Politico, 08/07/2016)

Millet: “Indiana taxpayers could have been saved millions of dollars for treating those affected by the HIV outbreak if effective prevention policies were already in place,” he said. (Politico, 08/07/2016)

“[Pence] was dragged kicking and screaming into signing the bill that we got passed,” said [Indiana] Rep. Patrick Bauer. (Politico, 08/07/2016)

Poz Magazine: “The new study estimated that if Pence’s government had initiated a response at the outset of 2013, the outbreak could have been limited to just 56 cases or fewer. Launching a response in April 2011 could have limited the outbreak to 10 cases or fewer.” (Poz Magazine, 09/13/2018)

Instead, Pence’s government caused an outbreak with 140 diagnosed cases in a city of 5,000 people. (NPR, 03/31/2016)

For more on Pence’s record, click here