People wait in line for COVID-19 vaccinations earlier this month in Las Vegas. (John Locher / Associated Press)
President Biden focused social media platforms like Facebook on Friday for permitting the unfold of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, as many Americans’ resistance to getting the photographs has left large swaths of the nation weak to the extra contagious Delta variant.
“They’re killing people,” he said when asked about the misinformation and what he’d say to such platforms. “The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they’re killing people.”
The comment got here in reply to a reporter’s query as Biden left the White House for Camp David, on the finish of every week by which his administration started to push again extra strongly towards misinformation concerning the security of COVID-19 vaccines, blaming it for some Americans’ unwillingness to get their photographs.
Facebook responded by saying it will “not be distracted by accusations which aren’t supported by the facts,” emphasizing that hundreds of thousands of individuals have discovered correct details about the virus and the vaccines on its platform.
“The facts show that Facebook is helping save lives,” mentioned firm spokesperson Dani Lever. “Period.”
Although COVID-19 caseloads remain far below those at the pandemic’s worst moments, the number of infections is increasing in every state, and rising numbers of deaths are expected in the coming weeks.
Roughly half of the country is fully inoculated and the vaccines remain effective against the Delta variant, limiting the potential devastation from the growing outbreaks. But the latest infections could herald a wave of unnecessary deaths in the world’s richest nation, with the largest stockpile of readily accessible vaccines.
The resurgence of COVID-19 cases represents a setback for Biden, who has staked his presidency on ending the pandemic and ushering in an economic recovery. The increases are greatest in areas that favored his election rival, former President Trump, reflecting the prior administration’s politicization of the pandemic response, which left many conservatives averse to wearing masks, social distancing and now to getting vaccines.
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Data released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows a widening gap in vaccination rates between red and blue counties. As of April 22, 22.8% of residents in counties that voted for Biden in November’s election were fully vaccinated, compared with 20.6% in counties that voted for Trump. As of July 6, 44.7% of people in pro-Biden counties were vaccinated, versus 35% in those that favored Trump.
President Biden said Friday that misinformation on social media about COVID-19 vaccines was “killing individuals.” (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)
Unlike the increase in caseloads that occurred in April, the current outbreaks are happening at a time when anyone who is at least 12 years old can get vaccinated. The country is now averaging 26,300 new cases per day, a 70% increase from the previous week, and 2,790 hospitalizations, a 36% increase. Deaths have started to rise as well, increasing 26% to an average of 211 a day nationwide.
“Each COVID-19 loss of life is tragic,” said Jeff Zients, the head of Biden’s task force on the pandemic response, at a briefing Friday. “And these taking place now are much more tragic as a result of they’re preventable.”
Polls show that Republicans are much less willing than Democrats and political independents to get vaccinated. Right-wing media and conservative politicians have encouraged skepticism of the shots.
Laura Ingraham, a Fox News host, described as “creepy stuff” a door-to-door outreach campaign that the Biden administration has promoted. Tucker Carlson, who has the network’s highest-rated show, described the vaccination campaign as “the best scandal in [his] lifetime.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has baselessly suggested that side effects of the vaccines can cause death.
Alarmed by such falsehoods, the administration is fighting back. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued his first formal health advisory Thursday, warning that misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines poses an “imminent and insidious threat.”
Such advisories are typically issued to warn Americans about such matters as the dangers of tobacco use or the opioid epidemic; Murthy’s bulletin was the first to target misinformation.
Although falsehoods have circulated during previous public health crises, notably including the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Murthy said the speed with which rumors can spread online required strong action. He urged social media companies to be more aggressive in limiting misinformation on their platforms.
“Simply put, well being misinformation has value us lives,” Murthy said Friday.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned about the dangers of misinformation on the COVID-19 vaccine. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)
Facebook said Friday that 2 billion people worldwide have found “authoritative info” about COVID-19 and vaccines on its platform, and 3.3 million Americans have used its vaccine-finder tool. The company previously said it had removed millions of examples of COVID-19 falsehoods.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had polio as a child before he could get vaccinated against the disease, said at a news conference Tuesday that people need to get inoculated.
“We need to finish the job,” he mentioned. “Part of it is just convincing the American people of the importance of doing this.”
Ashley Kirzinger, affiliate director of public opinion and survey analysis on the Kaiser Family Foundation, mentioned the nation wants “trusted messengers” — reminiscent of relations, pals and healthcare suppliers — to advertise COVID vaccination to hesitant individuals of their communities.
She mentioned that ought to embody “talking about how the vaccines have been tested, talking about how the technology has been around for four decades, talking about that there isn’t going to be a chip implanted in people.”
Besides encouraging these conversations, the White House has been biking by means of totally different ways to spice up vaccinations. After phasing out operations that allowed 1000’s of individuals a day to get their photographs, well being officers are specializing in cell clinics, pharmacies and physician’s workplaces.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, have traveled across the nation to advertise the vaccines. So has First Lady Jill Biden, who has swung by means of purple states together with Tennessee and Texas.
Increasing consideration has been paid to encouraging younger individuals to get vaccinated. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the highest federal knowledgeable in infectious ailments, has sat down for interviews with influencers on the broadly used video platform TikTok. And widespread singer and actor Olivia Rodrigo, 18, visited the White House on Wednesday to hitch Biden and Press Secretary Jen Psaki in publicly urging youths to get vaccinated.
Health consultants warn that though younger individuals are usually much less vulnerable to the coronavirus, they’ll nonetheless fall severely in poor health or transmit it to extra weak individuals.
Ultimately it might be the brand new risk from the Delta variant that provides beforehand skeptical individuals an incentive to get their photographs. Zients, the pandemic job drive chief, mentioned that the 5 states with the best an infection charges — Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada — have lately seen vaccination charges improve to exceed the nationwide common.
The coronavirus’ Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is accountable for greater than half of the COVID-19 instances within the U.S. It seems contagious sufficient to extend infections amongst unprotected Americans even in locations with excessive vaccination charges, like San Francisco. Although 76% of town’s residents older than 12 have been totally inoculated, instances and hospitalizations have begun ticking up, in response to information shared by Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the UC San Francisco Department of Medicine.
Los Angeles County has additionally seen a surge of recent infections, with the typical each day caseload ballooning from 173 in mid-June to 1,077 this week. County officers have introduced that everybody, no matter vaccination standing, must put on masks indoors in public settings beginning Saturday evening.
Federal well being authorities say those that are totally vaccinated don’t seem to want booster photographs for safety from the Delta variant, however Zients mentioned the federal government is ready to alter that recommendation if analysis reveals in any other case.
“We are ready for whatever the science tells us,” he mentioned. “We’ve secured enough vaccine supply.”
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Times.
