Topline
President-elect Joe Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) all praised the Trump administration's vaccine rollout effort this week, a reversal from earlier in the pandemic when Democrats expressed concern about President Donald Trump’s role in vaccine development.
President-elect Joe Biden (L) receives a COVID-19 Vaccination from nurse practitioner Tabe Masa at ... [+]
Key Facts
Biden, Newsom and Durbin all said this week the Trump administration deserves credit for Operation Warp Speed, the monthslong federal effort to develop and distribute a Covid-19 vaccine.
Earlier this year, both Biden and Durbin expressed doubt about vaccines developed under the Trump Administration because the president consistently clashed with the government’s own scientists about a timeline, creating concerns he was pressuring officials and pharmaceutical companies to rush the process.
Newsom for his part has avoided criticizing Trump directly about the issue, but he created a task force with other western states to independently review a vaccine themselves before distribution.
Other Democrats— including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-M.A.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D. N.Y.)—have also gotten the vaccine this week to show the public it’s safe and effective, but stopped short of praising Trump.
Crucial Quote
"I think that the administration deserves some credit, getting this off the ground, Operation Warp Speed,” Biden said Monday after he received Pfizer’s vaccine. “... I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the vaccine. There's nothing to worry about.”
Key Background
The fear of political pressure from Trump was so worrisome to scientists that several pharmaceutical companies issued an extraordinary joint statement in September pledging to submit a vaccine for FDA approval only after the appropriate trials. But despite the political back-and-forth, lawmakers of both parties are now getting inoculated to instill public confidence in vaccines. According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Monday, 15% of Americans say they will not take the vaccine.
