US vice presidential debate: Mike Pence’s eye sparks wild coronavirus theory

A small detail on the face of the Mike Pence during the US vice presidential debate has sparked a wild theory about his health online.

A small detail on the face of the US vice president Mike Pence has sparked a wild theory online.

Following a fairly civil vice presidential debate between Mr Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for Vice President, a number of Twitter users became fixated on issues not related to the substance of the debate.

First, a fly landing on Mr Pence’s head caused a viral storm on Twitter.

Next up, Mr Pence’s left eye, which was noticeably red, sparked a wild theory about the Vice President’s health.

RELATED: Fly becomes viral star of vice presidential debate

Debate viewers quickly started to theorise about the Vice President’s health. Picture: Eric Baradat / AFP

Mike Pence’s reddened eye sparked the theory he might have coronavirus. Picture: Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP

RELATED: Kamala Harris vs. Mike Pence

A number of Twitter users suggested it could be a “COVID eye”, or conjunctivitis linked to coronavirus.

Some pointed out Mr Pence had recently attended a suspected superspreader event at the White House Rose Garden two weeks ago. The high profile event was the announcement of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination for the US Supreme Court.

“Isn’t pink eye a COVID sign lol,” food blogger Jerry James Stone wrote on Twitter.

“I have a theory that Mike has covid but his only symptoms are the red eye, fatigue … light symptoms … and they didn’t tell anyone because if they were both sick,” another Twitter user wrote.

With possible COVID pink eye and his wife stood on stage without her mask.

— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) October 8, 2020

Conjunctivitis is a Covid symptom. #covideye https://t.co/NTdN4hxE3n

— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 8, 2020

Conjunctivitis is not a common symptom of coronavirus — the American Academy of Ophthalmology reports it can affect between one and three per cent of people with COVID-19.

It’s not clear if Mr Pence was suffering from any kind of eye condition.

Mr Pence’s press secretary, Devin O’Malley, said in a tweet yesterday Mr Pence had last been tested for COVID-19 on the afternoon of October 6. He tested negative.