White House Peddles False Claim about Low Vaccination Rates in Florida, Texas
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • 3 years ago • 45 commentsBy: Isaac Schorr (National Review)
White House press secretary Jen Psaki is using a misleading argument about COVID-19 vaccination rates in Florida and Texas to justify the Biden administration's decision to curb the supply of monoclonal antibodies — an effective treatment option for COVID-19 — being distributed to these states.
The federal government has only recently decided to take over the distribution of the antibody treatments, which Florida governor Ron DeSantis was an early proponent of. Abruptly, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Tuesday that it would be cutting the supply provided to Florida. The administration "did not provide any indication of any upcoming limitation to supply,” during communications between the state and department the day prior, according to DeSantis’s press secretary Christina Pushaw.
The decision to begin rationing doses marks a departure from the policy articulated by the administration earlier this month. On September 8, Dr. John Redd, chief medical officer for HHS’s emergency preparedness and response office, insisted that “we have not transitioned back to an allocation process.”
Psaki defended the reversal by arguing that it is the administration’s job to provide for an equitable distribution of the treatments among the states. She also erroneously cited low vaccination rates in Florida and Texas as the reason for a recent surge in cases in those states.
On Thursday, she asserted that “monoclonal antibodies are lifesaving therapies that are used after infection to prevent more severe outcomes. So clearly the way to protect people and save more lives is to get them vaccinated so that they don’t get COVID to begin with. But over the last month, given the rising cases due to the delta variant and the lowered number of vaccination rates in some of these states — like Florida, like Texas — just seven states are making up 70 percent of the orders. Our supply is not unlimited and we believe it should be equitable across states across the country.”
“I think our role as the government overseeing the entire country is to be equitable in how we distribute, we’re not going to give a greater percentage to Florida over Oklahoma,” added Psaki.
While a good-faith debate could be had over the merits of the White House’s new, centralized distribution policy, it’s more difficult to digest Psaki vaccination rate-dependent justification.
According to the New York Times, Florida ranks 18th among the states in terms of the proportion of its adult population inoculated with at least one does of the vaccine, and it has a higher full vaccination rate than states such as Illinois and Michigan. Texas meanwhile, ranks 25th in the first category, and ahead of Nevada and North Carolina in the second.
Neither President Biden nor Psaki have been critical of Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, and North Carolina or their Democratic governors for “lowered vaccination rates.” On the other hand, DeSantis and Texas governor Greg Abbott have sparred with the president on a number of issues, but especially on the subject of COVID and how best to balance the public health challenge it represents with other priorities.
It’s also notable that while the vaccines have proven resilient in preventing hospitalization and death amidst the Delta variant outbreak, breakthrough cases have been far more common since it supplanted the original viral strain as the most common in the U.S. At a press conference on Thursday, DeSantis noted that at a Broward County site where antibody doses are being distributed, 52 percent of the patients and a whopping 69 percent of patients over the age of 60 had been vaccinated.
“I think that the message is you do need to have treatment as an important component when you’re dealing with COVID,” said DeSantis.
Biden has angrily implored GOP governors to “at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing.” As recently as this week, DeSantis told Politico reporter Marc Caputo that “I think the data is very clear on the vaccinations, you’re much less likely to be hospitalized or die if you’re vaccinated. If you look, I think the hospitalizations skew four to one, in favor of people who are unvaccinated, which really is understating the difference because most people are vaccinated.”
The man who promised to unify us is trying to punish red states.
Psaki defended the reversal by arguing that it is the administration’s job to provide for an equitable distribution of the treatments among the states. She also erroneously cited low vaccination rates in Florida and Texas as the reason for a recent surge in cases in those states.
The radical left seems to be intent on abusing it's newly aquired power as much as possible. This is yet another example.
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Thanks for seeding an article on this topic. Both Florida and Texas are in the top half of states vaccinated by percentage of population. I mentioned this in discussion about Biden cutting off of regeneron to red states.
Two states that are growing in population.
Florida is fighting back!
I hate myself for even reading that.
Don't worry Biden will probably use federal money to buy up all the Antibodies.
What you should hate is Biden for withholding needed medicines from two red states who he has a vendetta against.
But again Biden is given a free pass for being a worthless POS human being.
Well gee Vic, let's look:
Wow, sounds ominous.
Wait what? "Transitioned BACK"? That seems to indicate that the federal government has already taken over distribution at a prior date. Hmmm...
Then we have the press release from the HHS:
So it sure as fuck looks like 'taking over the distribution' of mAbs' isn't a 'newly acquired power' since Trump's HHS did the SAME thing.
Oppps...
It looks like Biden is trying to punish red states. The policy was that the antibodies went where they were needed, especially since there is plenty of antibodies.
Oppps...
Only through the bias lens illustrated in the seed and the above comment.
Right and they are transitioning back to THAT allocation process.
Oh and BTFW Vic, the HHS press release includes a chart that documents the number of doses released to each state.
CA - 5,130
NY - 4,900
FL - 30,950
TX - 23,640
How does it look NOW Vic?
Oppps...
No, I'd say in the lense of any fair minded person.
Right and they are transitioning back to THAT allocation process.
No that is gaslighting! We aren't going BACK to anything. Example: The state of MA does not need as many as Mississippi does. The ORIGINAL policy had it right. The NEW policy is obviously intended to punish the states that need it most.
How does it look NOW Vic?
That was the original policy, Dulay. We are not stupid, Dulay. The new policy hasn't taken effect. When it does, states that need it most will face a cut-off point.
Oppps...
Looks like Dem run blue states are too fucking stupid to know what works because rampant TDS runs their lives. Trump mentioned the treatment and the left automatically discarded it as being worthless.
Fuck all their TDS driven asses.
Of course you would Vic.
Vic, I gave you a fucking link, why not USE it?
MA - 640 doses
MS - 9510 doses
Your comment shows willful ignorance.
While whoever the fuck 'we' are my not be stupid, 'they' sure as fuck are willfully ignorant.
From the November 2020 FDA EUA:
THAT is the 'original policy Vic.
Your link confirms everything I said. Antibodies were given out based on need!
MA - 640 doses
MS - 9510 doses
CORRECT! MS is where the need was!
THAT is the 'original policy Vic.
CORRECT! And it was based on NEED!!!!!
And it still is Vic.
Why is that Vic?
AGAIN, is still IS Vic.
The ORIGINAL EUA is STILL in effect.
Distribution of the authorized casirivimab and imdevimab will be controlled by the United States (U.S.) Government
So AGAIN, the seed's claim:
Is BULLSHIT.
Those numbers are for the CURRENT policy Vic.
That's debatable.
Oh but is HAS Vic.
Not every patient with covid qualifies for Regeneron treatment. That fact is also documented in the EUA.
Thanks for the truth and facts of the matter Dulay, as usual. . . .
While Florida's vaccination rate is up there, Texas is not. They could do much better.
California reports lowest COVID-19 case rate in the country (msn.com)
Pfttt, what does John Hopkins know?
Lies, damned lies and statistics?
Our partisan conservative members point out the inconvenient truth that the largest state in the Union has the largest number of deaths in the country while ignoring that most of those deaths listed on statistica happened last year.
If you are travelling you would want to know where the hot spots are now, not last year.
California is safer than any other state today.
Tennessee Florida Mississippi and Texas not so much especially over the last 7 days
States ranked by COVID-19 death rates: Sept. 17 (beckershospitalreview.com)
Our partisan leftist members play the damn statistics game all the damn time! Never hear a peep out of you about their lies.
Also, some of those so called hot spots have the highest amount of illegals; especially Texas. Know where there ate 14000 plus illegals and growing that can be shipped to CA to increase their damn numbers very quickly. In fact that is what Texas should do- load all of them up on buses and ship them straight to CA. It will be far cheaper than taking care of them; especially since they are getting no damn help from the worthless Biden administration.
I point out lies and partisan BS all the time.
Either you aren't listening or you're on the receiving end too often.
I have lived in and travelled Texas for years and have seen no one I was sure was illegal.
Call somebody. It's your civic duty.
Too funny. Abbott can't keep the power & water on during a winter storm, let alone deport people he can't find.
There it is, I can always depend on your consistent political hatred.
Thanks for the time.
Well here you go. I guarantee every last one of these people are an illegal.
It is on the news; you know the news that the left claims is faux. They have documented it extensively. The human fuck up machine in the White House is aware of it enough to have the FAA declare the Rio Valley International Bridge a drone no fly zone; and shut down traffic over it. So why hasn't he done anything about it other than make it more difficult for the media to cover it?
Everyone knows where they are at; including the human fuck up machine in the White House. The Mayor of Del Rio is begging for help; not that you seem to care.
You claim to have lived and travelled in Texas for years. Why don't you do your civic duty and offer to shelter several of these illegal immigrants? In fact why doesn't every person that voted for Biden offer to do the same? This is what you voted for after all.
I can always count on your consistent political bias and constantly ignoring any and all facts no matter how blatant they are if they don't fit your very narrow minded political [ views.Deleted ]
Too damn little, too damn late.
He isn't shutting down the whole border. Just the little section that is affected. There are two other major crossings in Texas- look for them to switch to those. He also isn't ending the policies that encouraged these people to come in the first place.
I guess we found out one thing; Biden really doesn't like or want the Haitians arounds. He is beginning processing them for deportation back to Haiti. Too bad Biden doesn't treat the rest of the illegal immigrants streaming across our border the same way.
So what? What about the topic?
If you are travelling you would want to know where the hot spots are now, not last year.
Not I - I'M VACCINATED!
California is safer than any other state today.
Why has it lost population?
Tennessee Florida Mississippi and Texas not so much especially over the last 7 days
Then they should continue to recieve all the antibodies they need!
and they are all being detained and being flown back to Haiti as they should be.
So exactly what is the topic?
It isn't you or your vax status.
It isn't the loss of 300K of people in CA last year
It appeared to be about the WH lying about vax rates.
They will get all the antibodies they need, did you not read Dulay's comments?
Of course, some of us recognize that the Biden Admin. policies have SOMETHING to do with the massive flow over the border, much of it illegal.
Some of us realize that every Administration's policies since WWII have SOMETHING to do with people
consistently trying to cross the border.
And some of us recognize a damn crisis at the border, even if the President, the highly vaunted VP, [Deleted] DON'T recognize one.
Might also be the very reason I specifically wrote SOME in my post.
I couldn’t have said it any better. Well done!
Great post. Every last word of it.
Judging from most of the comments in this thread, being off topic is totally acceptable.
Do you need me to post a link to the deaths from Covid in each state to prove just how ridiculous that question is Vic?
Why has Florida, Texas, Idaho and on and on lost population Vic?
Sheesh!
Does anyone else want to deny that California has lost population?
Does anyone else want to deny that Florida has gained population?
Sheesh!
ANOTHER strawman fallacy Vic. It's become an MO for your comments.
If it's a strawman, it's you who created it - right there in post 5.1.15.
(Lawyers have that little adage about never asking a question if you don't know what the answer will be.)
Nope.
I knew what the answer would be Vic. Another deflection.
I can't tell. We are collecting and processing a record number and sending back record numbers.
The immigration courts are still, as always backed up 3 years.
No Administration has seemed to address the situation.
Biden is just the latest target.