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Ebola vs Covid-19: Kamala Harris says US saw only 2 deaths during Obama's term, is it fair to compare the two?

Harris equating Ebola crisis with the current global Covid-19 pandemic didn't sit well with social media, though many still blamed Trump for the many deaths

After her selection as Joe Biden’s running mate, senator Kamala Harris delivered a strong speech on August 12. Harris attacked President Donald Trump and his administration in her speech. As CNBC reports, Harris said, "The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut. Just look where they’ve gotten us: More than 16 million out of work. Millions of kids who cannot go back to school.... And tragically, more than 165,000 lives that have been cut short, many with loved ones who never got the chance to say goodbye."

She praised Biden and former president Barack Obama's leadership skills in handling a pandemic. She, as the CNBC report states, said, "Six years ago... we had a different health crisis. It was called Ebola, and we all remember that pandemic. But you know what happened then? Barack Obama and Joe Biden did their job. Only two people in the United States died. Two. That is what’s called leadership."

However, Harris equating Ebola crisis with the current global Covid-19 pandemic didn’t sit well with social media. Harris' comments had everyone talking on Twitter. Jerry Dunleavy, a reporter with Washington Examiner said, "Ebola and COVID-19 are simply not comparable problems and it is dishonest to pretend that they are."

The Washington Examiner, in fact, in one of their recent reports quoted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and stated, according to the CDC, only "eleven people were treated for Ebola in the United States during the 2014-2016 epidemic". The report further quoted Dr Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health, as saying at that time, "You must remember that the risk of Ebola for the everyday citizen in the United States is extraordinarily low. So Ebola is on the radar screen, but for us is an extraordinarily remote threat."

The report further explains that epidemic and pandemic are two different medical terms. The CDC says, "An outbreak is called an epidemic when there is a sudden increase in cases," whereas a pandemic is a situation where a "disease spreads across several countries and affects a large number of people". Initially, the coronavirus was labeled an epidemic after a spike of cases were reported from a localized region in China, but it was upgraded to a pandemic after spreading across the globe. According to Washington Examiner, the Ebola virus never met the definition of a 'pandemic' because it was primarily restricted to African areas such as Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. 

This lead to further social media scrutiny. A user said, "She's bending facts how a politician is expected to but you gotta be like 2 layers of stupid to hear this and think Ebola and Corona are comparable."

Another user pointed out, "Comparing Ebola to COVID is like comparing hand guns to missile launchers."

Another claimed, "Comparing ebola to coronavirus is such a stupid thing to do, Coronavirus spreads through fomites, droplets and is a respiratory virus, whereas ebola spreads only through body fluids, just like Hep B. Why thank Obama for what is entirely virus’ property?"

Another user stated, "This is the dumbest thing I’ve read in 2020. Ebola and Covid are COMPLETELY different viruses. Comparing apples to oranges here. There’s a reason it’s only prevalent in third world countries. Anyone with a brain knows they are simply not even on the same page."

One concurred, "I don’t for a second think that Trump has dealt with COVID-19 well. But someone just tried to say Obama dealt with Ebola brilliantly like that can be compared BUT it wasn’t nearly as widespread of an issue. It’s a false equivalence."

However, there were a few who had a different opinion. One said, "Trumps administration should be held accountable for these deaths and overall deaths from this virus. 2 deaths from Ebola sparked outrage from the Republicans but the 160,000 is met with silence!"

One put a screenshot of Trump's tweet from 2014 and said, "So if Obama should’ve resigned cause of the two deaths of Ebola... I guess trump should be on the death row for the 167,000 deaths from Covid-19. lmao."

Another user said, "The same people who lost their minds over two deaths from Ebola are quite after 160k+ deaths due to Covid. In fact they are clapping its only been 160k+ deaths. Let that sink in from now until November."

On March 11, WHO in their website stated, "WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that Covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic." And on March 18, the organization put out this statement: "It’s now more than a month since the last case of Ebola in DRC. If it stays that way, the outbreak will be declared over in less than a month’s time. We’d like to thank all our partners for their solidarity in staying the course in the service of the people of DRC – and my special appreciation to the government and people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That same spirit of solidarity must be at the centre of our efforts to defeat COVID-19."