White House Office of Public Liaison Provides Updates on COVID-19 Response in Minority Communities

The White House Office of Public Liaison today hosted a conversation with Vice President Mike Pence and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, to address the COVID-19 Task Force’s response to the outbreak among minority communities.

In a conference call with community leaders across the country, Vice President Pence acknowledged the significant impact COVID-19 is having, particularly in African American communities. As chair of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force, Pence expressed his concern and intentions to ensure that the most impacted communities are empowered to fight the spread of the virus.

Following Pence’s brief remarks, Redfield noted the need for more data to help protect the most vulnerable populations. The Task Force is now conducting studies to determine the extent of COVID-19’s impact on predominantly African American and other minority communities with historically high rates of diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and obesity – underlying conditions that leave these populations more susceptible COVID-19-related complications.

With this new data, the task force hopes to better communicate health and safety guidelines to the most vulnerable communities to slow the virus’ spread and ensure they have the guidance and resources they need to protect them from further risk.

The Office of Public Liaison will continue to facilitate these conversations in the coming weeks and provide updates as they’re made available.