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- The journalists shouted Vice President Mike Pence out of the press conference room after he did not answer questions after the COVID-19 task force’s first briefing in months.
- Members of the task force addressed the growing number of COVID-19 cases across the country.
- President Donald Trump was not present at the meeting and has been relatively silent on the pandemic since the election, choosing instead to pursue unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud through dozens of unsuccessful court challenges.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
Reporters yelled at Vice President Mike Pence Thursday, after choosing not to answer questions at the White House’s first COVID-19 task force briefing in months.
“You are all undermining the democratic election!” shouted a reporter.
—The recount (@therecount) November 19, 2020
Pence was joined by Dr Anthony Fauci, Dr Deborah Birx, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and General Gustave Perna, who oversees vaccine distribution.
Birx has warned Americans to be cautious and take appropriate action as cases continue to rise in the United States.
“It really is a call to action for every American to increase their vigilance,” Birx said.
As of Wednesday, 170,161 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded, according to Johns Hopkins University. The country also passed 250,000 deaths from the virus on Wednesday.
Pence offered an optimistic tone and said President Donald Trump advised the task force to speak to reporters. Trump was not at the conference and has made few public appearances since President-elect Joe Biden won the November election.
Trump was not at Thursday’s briefing and has spoken little publicly about the pandemic since the Nov. 4 election, choosing instead to pursue unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud through dozens of unsuccessful court challenges.
Last week, he announced Pfizer’s publication of test results that showed its investigational COVID-19 vaccine to be 95% effective. Trump, however, baselessly accused the company of not disclosing its findings until after the election, which the company quickly denied.
Pence sought to reassure Americans as the pandemic rages: “Even though we see help on the way, vaccines are being developed at an historic rate, as I mentioned before, as we meet today. hui, we are seeing an increase in cases and positivity across the country, ”Pence said.
“But we approach this moment with the confidence of experience. We know the American people know what to do. We have forged a partnership that is truly transparent with national and local health authorities.”
Reporters at Thursday’s conference insisted on Pence why he wasn’t answering questions. They shouted remarks about Trump’s recent actions and asked why the White House had stopped answering questions from reporters.
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