A Biden administration that vowed to restore Americans’ faith in public health has grown increasingly paralyzed over how to combat the resurgence in vaccine skepticism.
And internally, aides and advisers concede there is no comprehensive plan for countering a movement that’s steadily expanded its influence on the president’s watch.
The rising appeal of anti-vaccine activism has been underscored by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s insurgent presidential campaign and fueled by prominent factions of the GOP. The mainstreaming of a once-fringe movement has horrified federal health officials, who blame it for seeding dangerous conspiracy theories and bolstering a Covid-era backlash to the nation’s broader public health practices.
But as President Joe Biden ramps up a reelection campaign centered on his vision for a post-pandemic America, there’s little interest among his aides in courting a high-profile vaccine fight — and even less certainty of how to win.
“There’s a real challenge here,” said one senior official who’s worked on the Covid response and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “But they keep just hoping it’ll go away.”
The White House’s reticence is compounded by legal and practical concerns that have cut off key avenues for repelling the anti-vaccine movement, according to interviews with eight current and former administration officials and others close to the process.
Lies on social media kill people. I know of one guy who believed the lies and died of covid.
Herman Cain?
No he is still twitting
Vaccinated people die of covid too, in large numbers.
At much lower ratios than unvaccinated people, which has been true for basically every disease that has a vaccine for it.
The point is you can be 10x vaxxed for covid and still die of covid.
Yes, and? You will be at much lower risk of dying from Covid because your immune system will be primed to defend itself against the disease, which is what vaccination does.
But that doesn’t mean your immune system will automatically win. If your immune system is weakened or if you are exposed to a large viral dose, then you can still die.
But you’ll have much better chances if your immune system can respond immediately rather than having to form memory T antibodies over the course of several days before being able to respond to the infection.
Read the comment I replied to. You don’t have to “believe the lies” to die from COVID.
But you are much, much more likely to die of Covid if you do believe the lies and don’t get vaccinated.