How an Oregon official showing up in a clown costume for COVID-19 announcements sparked controversy online

For many on social media, the official's appearance in a clown costume was a stretch even if it was for Halloween.

Moneycontrol News

October 30, 2020 / 04:42 PM IST

A senior Oregon (USA) health official is currently going viral on social media for showing up in clown-makeup during the state’s latest COVID-19 announcement.

Doctor Claire Poche, a senior health adviser for the Oregon Health Authority, can be seen in white and red clown makeup as well as a red tie, polka dot shirt, and yellow pants in the clip.

“As of today, there have been 38,160 cases of COVID-19 in Oregon, with 390 new cases being reported today. Sadly, we are also reporting three deaths today, bringing the statewide total for COVID-19-related deaths to 608,” she said.

Oregon’s public health authority had their MD dress up like a clown and announce COVID deaths. pic.twitter.com/6MJaqQniG6

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 28, 2020

Robb Cowie, communications director for OHA, said the agency regretted how that part of the video was handled, Oregon Live reported.

“We regret that earlier this month, three tragic COVID-19 deaths were announced during a Facebook Live event focused on preventing the spread of COVID-19 during Halloween celebrations,” Cowie said in a statement.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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