The plexiglass shields at the vice presidential debate are 'absurd' and useless, infectious disease experts say


Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris have already scuffled over having protective plexiglass barriers on stage during Wednesday night's debate, with Pence's team ultimately relenting to allow it. But the effectiveness of the plastic shields has drawn outright laughter from infectious disease experts, who claim the measure is "absurd" and useless, The New York Times reports.
COVID-19 is carried by aerosols, which can drift around a room and travel further than six feet when people are indoors. While Harris and Pence will be positioned 12 feet apart, the barriers around them will offer little protection if one of them is sick, since the aerosols can just float past or circulate around them.
Pence, notably, has tested negative for COVID-19 despite probable exposure, but he has also not yet made it out of the 14-day window in which the disease can begin to manifest.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Those plexiglass barriers are really only going to be effective if the vice president or Kamala Harris are spitting at each other," Boston University epidemiologist Ellie Murray explained to the Times. "Those are really just splatter shields." Linsey Marr, a scientist at Virginia Tech whose expertise is in airborne transmission, actually laughed out loud when she saw the stage's set up, explaining that the barriers "are even smaller and less adequate than I imagined."
Joseph Allen, a ventilation expert at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told the Times that it's not just about the danger to Pence, Harris, and the moderator: "My biggest concern," he said, "is that millions of people will be getting the message that this is what an effective set of controls looks like." Read more about what actually would make the debate safer at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Burkina Faso's misinformation war
Under The Radar The president of the West African country has quickly become the face of a viral, AI-powered propaganda campaign
-
Jeffrey Epstein's secrets
Feature Six years after his death, conspiracy theories still swirl around the sex trafficker. Why?
-
Voting: Trump's ominous war on mail ballots
Feature Donald Trump wants to sign an executive order banning mail-in ballots for the 2026 midterms
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US