Adm. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health, confirmed that President Trump hasn’t attended a coronavirus task force meeting in at least five months but added that he’s “not concerned” about that fact.
“The Washington Post is reporting that the president has not attended a coronavirus task force meeting in at least five months. Is that accurate?” ABC News’s Martha Raddatz asked the admiral and pediatrician.
“That’s true, but the vice president does chair the coronavirus task force,” Giroir replied. “We often have several cabinet members there, and the vice president briefs the president every day — or nearly every day — on coronavirus, so I’m not concerned that the president doesn’t attend.”
JUST IN: Adm. Brett Giroir confirms Washington Post report that Pres. Trump has not attended a coronavirus task force meeting in at least five months, saying “that’s true.”
“I’m not concerned that the president doesn’t attend—the vice president is there” https://t.co/n189nvsJ5L pic.twitter.com/FHHL1neG0S
— ABC News (@ABC) November 15, 2020
In October, Dr. Anthony Fauci was one of the first to acknowledge that it had been “several months” since the president last attended a task force meeting. He also confirmed that Vice President Mike Pence still regularly attended the meetings, but as coronavirus cases around the country first began to surge past the record highs of the summer spike, Fauci warned he was concerned the president was taking more advice from White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas than the task force. Atlas was a contentious adviser pick who criticizes the effectiveness of masks and contradicts data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.
Since Fauci’s acknowledgment, the coronavirus pandemic has worsened in the United States and across the globe. With a seven-day average of more than 140,000 new cases a day, according to data from Johns Hopkins, many states are reintroducing coronavirus restrictions and strengthened mask mandates. In Chicago, health officials told residents to “cancel traditional Thanksgiving” plans.
The U.S. announced some promising coronavirus news last week. Drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech released an early analysis from an independent data-monitoring committee suggesting that its coronavirus vaccine is more than 90% effective at preventing infections. In their announcement, Pfizer and BioNTech said they will seek an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration after they report additional safety data from the second dose of the vaccination. They expect to have that data by the third week of November.
Despite the absence of the president, Giroir commended the hard work of everyone who does regularly attend the meetings. “The vice president is there, Secretary Azar, the leadership that’s there, the scientific community, Dr. Birx, Dr. Fauci, myself, Dr. Hahn, Dr. Redfield — you know, we are all working, and the docs work literally every single day together.”
