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Joey Weng

Dr. Wharton

PSC 475W

27th February 2021

Public Health Measures on Combating COVID-19 Between the Trump Administration and the

Biden Administration-A Comparative Policy Analysis

Introduction and COVID-19 Background

When the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan, China in late 2019,

no one expected that it would turn out to be a global pandemic and one of the deadliest events in

recent years. The first batch of suspected COVID-19 cases were detected in Wuhan, China in

December of 2019. Almost all infected patients had gone to a local seafood market just days

prior to their infections. On January 11th of 2020, the first death from the virus was reported in

China, and in detected ten days later the U.S. On January 30th, the World Health Organization

declared the virus a global emergency, signaling that it was likely going to turn into an epidemic.

By mid-March, every state in the U.S. had COVID-19 cases with New York City being the

epicenter of the initial outbreak (Schumaker). According to CDC COVID-19 data, the U.S.

would later go on to lead the world in most deaths and infections.

Many health experts now compare the coronavirus as the modern day “Spanish Flu.” So

far, the Coronavirus has infected more than 140 million people and over 3 million deaths

worldwide, striking almost every nation including the U.S. The U.S. has the most cases and the

highest death rates of more than 30 million cumulative cases and over a half million deaths.
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Cases and deaths are still occurring daily across the nation, according to active data published by

CDC. Fortunately, that COVID-19 cases have dramatically declined in recent days in the U.S.

and vaccine distribution is picking up speed. However, there is the new B.1.1.7 UK variant and

the B.1.351 South Africa variant pose a new threat and fear of another round of surge in

infections and deaths. These variants are significantly more transmissible and will likely become

dominant virus mutations in the U.S. (“CDC Covid Data Tracker 2020-21”).

This comparative policy analysis paper will focus on the differences and similarities

between how the ex-president, Donald Trump’s administration handled the pandemic, and the

way that the newly elected president, Joe Biden’s administration, fights the global crisis that has

already killed over a half million Americans. The categories of confronting the coronavirus by

both administrations that will be discussed in this paper including but not limited to policies on

border closures & travel ban, domestic social distancing guidelines, the use of face masks,

vaccine distribution, response attitude to protect the American public from this deadly pandemic,

and the level of acceptance on professional recommendations from medical experts and

appropriate government agencies.

COVID-19 General Trend under Trump and Biden, Respectively

In this section, cases and deaths under both the Trump and the Biden administration will

be analyzed separately. According to data published by Centers for Disease and Prevention

Control (CDC) from 2020 to 2021, the cases and deaths increased while Trump was in office.

For example, the daily cases were under 20,000 and just a few hundred daily deaths during most

of March, respectively. However, since then, the deaths were at an estimated over 1000-1500 per

day from Spring of 2020 to Fall of 2020, and over 2000 per day during most of the winter of

2020 (November to January). The cases went from around 20,000 in April of 2020 to a huge
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spike to over 50,000 in July, and it climbed to six daily figures during the winter of 2020. More

than a quarter million cases were reported, and 3800 people died of the novel coronavirus in the

U.S. on January 6th of 2021, the deadliest day since the pandemic struck in the U.S. There were

more than 25 million cumulative cases and over 500,000 cumulative deaths under Trump (“CDC

Covid Data Tracker 2020-21”).

In contrast, only weeks after Joe Biden took office In January of 2021, the U.S. made

significant progress on containing its COVID-19 deaths and infections. The infections went from

the daily average of over 150,000 cases during most of November to January under Trump,

down to just above 80,000 average infections in February and under 65,000 average cases in

March while Biden is in office. The deaths have declined considerably, from an average of above

two thousand deaths a day between late 2020 and early 2021, to around 1600 daily deaths in

March and around 980 deaths in most of April 2021. Currently, cases and deaths are still

declining. As of today, more than two hundred million vaccine doses have been administered

nation-wide since Biden was sworn in. (“CDC Covid Data Tracker 2020-21”).

Trump’s Attitude towards the Pandemic, Science, Masks, and Social Distancing

After analyzing the cases and deaths under Biden and Trump, respectively, the paper will

now get into Trump’s attitude towards the public health emergency. According to a private

interview with journalist Bob Woodward, Trump had advance intel about the seriousness of the

virus, and that it will harm a significant portion of Americans if no significant public health

measures are implemented. To quote President Trump from the interview, “It goes through the

air…and so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even

your strenuous flus. This is deadly stuff” (BBC News). However, he never admitted the fact in

public, claiming he did not want to cause panic. During his many public appearances to address
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to pandemic, he told the Americans that COVID-19 is “nothing to be worried about”, and that “it

will go away on its own” (BBC News). Donald Trump’s downplaying approach, as the nation’s

executive leader, significantly delayed the U.S.’s public health structure’s response time.

President Trump’s decision to choose to not respond to the pandemic accordingly has led

to devastating results and mounting American deaths. Medical experts and scholars, including

those at the New England Journal of Medicine, constantly criticize Trump’s actions and attitude

toward the pandemic. The journal article indicates that Trump was being irresponsible towards to

the welfare of the American people by not sending out warnings about the seriousness of the

situation. The social distancing guidelines, the use of face masks and COVID-19 testing

measures were virtually non-existent during a lot of times under the administration. Premier

federal agencies such as the CDC, which is to detect dangerous viruses and to provide public

health recommendations and viruses’ forecasts, and the Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA), which is designed to provide mass care, the allocation of necessary materials

and to give emergency assistance to states during a national emergency under Trump did not

respond soon enough to contain the virus before it became a national pandemic (“Dying

Leadership in a Vacuum” p.1-2). Another scholar named Paul Rutledge that specializes in

analyzing governmental administration, recently mentioned in his peer-reviewed journal that

instead of using the sophisticated federal government and enormous tools that are available,

Trump’s efforts to save the American public from this pandemic were very little. Trump made a

statement that he wishes to leave the lockdown and other safety measures up to the fifty state

governors. As a result, pandemic responses across the country were uncoordinated and deeply

split at the very least, with some states imposed strict measures while others did not (p. 505-511).

This type of response did not help America to curb COVID-19.

In addition, President Trump only wanted scientists that agree with his philosophy of

downplaying the pandemic. For example, after the nation’s top infectious disease experts

Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx spoke out about the true consequences of downplaying

COVID-19, President Trump was unpleasant and he eventually decided to name Scott Atlas, a

doctor from Stanford University to be his Chief Medical Advisor although he had no infectious

disease background. Since Atlas’s appointment, he has made many controversial statements

about how social distancing, face masks and lockdowns do not stop the virus from spreading

person-to-person (Cook). Trump also instructed his allies at the Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS), an executive office that provides health services to Americans at the

federal level and with oversight on some CDC activities, to deliberately alter and redact COVID-

19 reports by CDC because those reports go directly against his proclamation that the virus poses

no serious threat to the public. (Diamond). The Trump administration largely ignored

recommendations given by Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is a non-partisan

governmental office that provides audit and evaluation on federal government policies. Out of 31

anti-COVID recommendations from 2020-2021, only 4 were accepted, much less fully

implemented. Some of the recommendations by GAO that were not fully accepted including a

national strategy for HHS to coordinate with state health departments and other agencies to better

distribute vaccines. Other recommendations including a coordination between HHS and local

and state governments, as well as manufacturers that produce medical supplies, to form a supply

chain to ensure the continuous flow of medical supplies essential to combating COVID-19

(“Critical Vaccine Distribution, Supply Chain, Program Integrity, and Other Challenges Require

Focused Federal Attention” p.2-15); these recommendations were not approved by HHS before

Trump left office.

President Trump not only repeatedly expressed disbelief both in private and in public on

scientific methods to combat COVID-19, but he also set infamous examples to the American

people by constantly opposing the wearing of face masks. He did not believe the evidence that

was scientifically determined by CDC as one of the most effective tools to prevent infection in a

tightly packed areas, then he mocked then-President Elect Biden for wearing masks in the public

(Victor). Trump was reluctant to publish social distancing guidelines during the pandemic as

well. Politico reports that even though the Trump White House and the CDC advised the

American people to avoid large gatherings in public, the advisory was only in effect from

February to April of 2020, before the worst surges of cases and deaths (Kenen).

Not following scientific advice when combating one of the deadliest contagious viruses

in history and being constantly deceptive to the public are not the worst things a leader could

possibly do; to personally hold multiple in-personal campaign rallies without health protections,

which led to thousands more new infections hurt the American republic even more. According to

CNBC and researchers at Stanford University, President Trump held more than a dozen rallies

between June and September, and they caused over 30,000 infections and hundreds of deaths

because most attendees refused to wear face masks and did not follow appropriate guidelines

recommended by health agencies (Berkeley). Trump and his senior aides repeatedly refused

those measures as well. During his speeches given at rallies, Trump repeatedly dismissed the

threat of COVID-19 and placed blame on China for not notifying the U.S. authorities

immediately following the initial outbreak in Wuhan. He then went on and used racial slurs by

calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” or the “Wuhan virus” (Mangan). All of Trump’s speeches

and actions have significantly contributed to the COVID-19 situation here in the U.S.

Biden’s Attitude towards the Pandemic, Science, Masks, and Social Distancing
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On the contrary, immediately following the presidential inauguration on January 20th of

2021, President Joe Biden and his administration took a fresh approach on combating COVID-19

in the United States. The results are promising by far. During Biden’s first day in office, he

signed over a dozen executive orders regarding the pandemic. Some of the notable orders

including the restoration of a National Security Council task force that concentrates on

combating major health concerns around the world to prevent a similar pandemic on reaching the

U.S. again, cease the withdrawal application of the U.S.’s membership with the World Health

Organization and actively communicating with other nations regarding critical COVID-19

intelligence, along with a mask mandate on federal properties (Goldstein & Becker). The signing

of executive orders during Biden’s first day in office shows that he considers the pandemic a

priority in his presidential term, and he does not want to see more Americans continue to die

from the pandemic.

In addition, Biden warned the American public on the seriousness of the situation and

that the pandemic likely would not be eroded in the foreseeable future. Biden also rolled out the

“Biden plan.” The plan outlines the Biden administration’s scheme on combating COVID-19.

Some of the biggest add-ons comparing to the Trump administration including the Pandemic

Testing Board, which provides free and speedy COVID-19 swab tests for everyone in the

country while increasing testing sites and drive-thru, so that people do not have to wait for hours

to obtain tests. Biden’s administration started a nation-wide distribution plan of protective gear,

ventilators, N95 masks and other necessities for frontline workers after enacting the Defense

Production Act (“National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness”

p.11-p.15). Biden also picked Dr. Anthony Fauci to be his Chief Medical Adviser and sounding

board regarding the combat against COVID-19 (Jansen).

In terms of faces masks and social distancing, President Biden and his administration

follow the CDC guidelines to the letter. Also on January 20th, Biden signed an executive order

that mandates all federal employees and everyone else to wear face masks and social distance

when possible while they are on federal properties. Anyone who travels on buses, airplanes,

trains, and other means of interstate transportation must wear masks as well (Goldstein &

Becker). According to the British Medical Journal, Joe Biden is actively encouraging Americans

to follow CDC guidelines such as to put on face masks, avoid large gatherings and social

distance with each other for at least six feet, and to get vaccines (Tanne 1). Biden’s directives

indicate he is determined to save as many American lives as possible as the federal executive

leader.

Vaccine under Trump

Vaccines are the most powerful tool to minimize the damages to the public of long-term

diseases such as COVID-19. Under the Trump administration, the delivery of PPE and other

medical supplies for COVID-19 was inefficient. When it comes to vaccine distribution, the

progress was very similar. When President Trump announced a mass vaccine campaign called

“Operation Warp Speed” earlier in the year of 2020, he pledged that his administration would

ensure that 20 million Americans to be incubated with COVID-19 vaccines before 2021.

However, Trump’s goal fell short by more than 3 million doses before he left office. In addition,

the logistic challenges were almost unbearable for a lot of states, as they often did not receive the

promised doses from the federal government. Trump wanted the states to allocate vaccine doses

instead of using federal agencies like the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and

pharmacy chains, which is designed to deal with national emergencies just like COVID-19; to
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equally allocate them to the states and assist on vaccinations during a public health emergency.

The daily vaccine doses administered were less than one million on average (Horton).

Vaccine under Biden

Vaccine distribution and incubation are way more sufficient under the Biden

administration. According to Schoenwalder of U.S. News, President Biden vowed to not have

100 million, but 200 million doses administrated during his first hundred days in office. Vaccine

delivery results indicate the 200-million target is going to be accomplished well before Biden’s

100th day as president of the United States, as the country is incubating more than 2 million doses

daily and more than 20% of Americans are fully vaccinated (Schoenwalder). The nation is facing

less logistic issues regarding vaccine distribution to the states and local governments. According

to the “COVID Action Plan” by Biden, all American adults would be eligible for vaccines

manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. In addition, Biden and the CDC decided to partner up with

more national pharmacy chains, local community centers, hospitals, research universities, retail

giants, and to deploy emergency mobile vaccination units of FEMA, to ensure the swift

allocation of vaccines into the states’ hands (“National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and

Pandemic Preparedness” p.7).

Travel Ban

The last item on combating the global pandemic is the implementation of travel ban

under both the Trump and the Biden administration. According to U.S. Department of State, on

January 31st of 2020, Donald Trump issued executive orders to ban non-U.S. citizens and non-

permanent residents from entering the U.S. if they have been in mainland China or Iran (since

February 29th of 2020) within the past 14 days due to the outbreak of COVID-19. On January
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25th of 2021, Joe Biden signed additional executive orders, banning those who have been in

Brazil, EU, and South Africa within the past two weeks (due to COVID-19 variants) in addition

to China and Iran (excluding direct family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents,

and diplomats), from entering the U.S. Starting May 4th of 2021, a similar proclamation will be

imposed on people coming from India due to the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak. Also, eligible

international arrival passengers must show negative COVID-19 active infection test results to

airlines within 72 hours of boarding time (“Presidential Proclamation on Novel Coronavirus”).

The travel ban is one of the few measures that both Trump and Biden agreed on.

In sum, this comparative research paper discussed many aspects of the U.S.’s combat

against COVID-19. Specifically, critical public health measures such as travel bans, vaccine

production, delivery, incubation, and face masks & social distancing that were taken (or not) by

Donald Trump and the Joe Biden administration, respectively. This research considers several

sources including, but not limited to, academic sources like peer-reviewed journal articles, online

media such as the New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and Politico, and government

data & reports. The angle of this paper is to explore the differences of anti-COVID-19 measures

between the Trump and the Biden administration, as well both presidents’ leadership styles and

attitude amid the pandemic. The readers can be students who are political science majors, or

those who are simply interested in knowing the implementations by the two administrations to

combat COVID-19, public health experts, professors, members of the media, and governmental

administration scholars.

Works Cited
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5a9a-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html.

BerkeleyJr. “Trump Campaign Rallies Led to More than 30,000 Coronavirus Cases, Stanford

Researchers Say.” CNBC, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/10/31/coronavirus-

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