Sorry, Guys. Mike Pence Is Not an Idiot for Not Wearing a Mask at the Mayo ClinicPJ Media, Apr 29, 2020, Stacey Lennox
First, the president, vice president, and members of the White House staff are routinely tested. Pence and President Trump have disclosed negative tests on a number of occasions when questioned. Second, if you think regular staff and visitors to the White House are not routinely tested before coming in contact with Trump or Pence, you aren’t thinking.
Finally, most important, to prevent the transmission of disease between two people, you need a single barrier. This is the basis of what are called universal precautions in infection control. As a Registered Nurse, I wore gloves, a gown, and face protection if there was potential for me to come in contact with the blood of a patient. If a respiratory disease was suspected, I wore a mask, eye goggles, and gloves. So did every visitor to the patient.
[...]
Because a single barrier is required between two people, the video of Vice President Pence is completely in line with appropriate precautions. The healthcare workers are more likely to be carriers of the virus. They are placing a barrier between themselves and the vice president. Pence’s hands are basically glued to his sides, avoiding all surfaces and physical contact. He should still wash them vigorously following his visit as a precaution.
More important, the optics of our leaders in masks would be strange. Attorney General Bill Barr told Laura Ingraham he wears a mask in the course of some of his daily activities, but he does not wear one during appearances. Many areas of the country do not have mandatory mask rules and it is not part of the common culture in the U.S. the way it is in some Asian countries.
For our leaders to cave to media pressure to do so when there is no basic principle of barrier protection being violated would be a mistake. It would only serve to reinforce the panic they are intent on spreading. Our leaders should be endeavoring to do the opposite as we take tentative steps at reopening.
https://pjmedia.com/columns/stacey-lennox/2020/04/29/vice-president-mike-pence-is-not-an-idiot-n386544
