White House denounces criticism of COVID-19 vaccination efforts

[ad_1]

July 12, 2021 – As COVID-19 vaccination rates continue to peak in the United States, the White House is starting to call on elected officials who criticize the national effort to get people vaccinated.

After South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tried to block door-to-door efforts to increase immunizations last week, The Associated Press said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki , challenged the spread of misinformation and fear around vaccines.

The inability to provide accurate public health information, including the effectiveness of vaccines and their accessibility to people across the country, including South Carolina, is literally killing people, she said on Friday during a press briefing.

Psaki and senior U.S. health officials have expressed concerns over a divided country with two realities as the pandemic continues: one with high vaccination rates and low cases of COVID-19 in areas Democrat-oriented, and the other with low vaccination rates, new epidemics and variants emerging in areas with a Republican tendency.

Last week, President Joe Biden announced renewed efforts to reach the last third of adults who have not received a vaccine, including a popular campaign to roll out mobile vaccination clinics and send vaccines to family physicians and to local pediatricians.

“Now we have to go community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and often, door to door – literally knocking on doors – to get help for the remaining people, Biden said in his remarks Tuesday.

Although the local vaccination campaign has been underway since April, last week’s speech gave conservative leaders a voice, the AP reported. McMaster has called on the South Carolina Department of Health to prevent state and local health groups from using door-to-door tactics, and Missouri Gov. Mike Pearson told his state health department that door-to-door tactics were not welcome. Arizona and Ohio officials also condemned Bidens’ new strategy.

The Biden administration wants to knock on your door to see if you are vaccinated, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan wrote in a Twitter post on Thursday. And after? Knocking on your door to see if you own a gun?

In response, Psaki said door-to-door campaigns have been helpful in lagging states, such as Alabama, Florida and Georgia, where vaccination rates increased in June. She also refuted allegations that could fuel fear about community outreach.

[ad_2]