President Joe Biden delivered a virtually accurate Thursday speech on the coronavirus pandemic. But after signing a series of executive actions to address the crisis, a reporter was asked if the vaccination target he announced in December – 100 million doses administered within 100 days – was sufficiently ambitious.
The question of whether the goal is too modest arose in part because the U.S. administered 1 million doses a day, even before Biden could implement his plans. According to data published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. administered an average of 914,000 doses per day.
But Biden defends the goal of 100 million. He told the reporter: ‘When I announced it, you all said it was not possible. Come on, give me a break, man. This is a good start – 100 million. ‘
Facts first: Biden’s claim is false; it is not true that the initial consensus exists in the media that the 100 million goal was impossible. Some of the early news coverage of the goal not even the question of whether it was plausible. Some experts who appeared in the early coverage, including dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, said the goal was achievable. And while some journalists and experts were more skeptical and warned that the goal was ambitious, they did not go so far as to say that it was impossible.
Gupta told CNN on the day of Biden’s announcement in December that the 100 million target was ‘very achievable’, given what we heard from vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer. The next morning, Dr Jorge Rodriguez, CNN’s medical analyst, said on the air that ‘this is a realistic goal’ as Biden has a plan.
A short article on the CNN analysis states that achieving the goal would be a ‘massive undertaking’ and that Biden would generally have to face a ‘scary’ first 100 days in office. But even in this article it is not said that it was impossible or even unlikely to achieve the goal.
There may be someone at some media who has said that it was not possible to administer 100 million doses within 100 days. But Biden told reporters in the State Dining Room that ‘you all said’ it’s impossible, and that’s clearly not true.
The White House declined to comment on the report. An employee of Biden said on condition of anonymity that the president was referring to early media coverage that was skeptical about the goal, and did not say that the goal was described by the media as literally impossible.
Media skepticism
Biden could have accurately said that some of the early coverage was skeptical.
Science journalist Laurie Garrett said on the day of the announcement that it was ‘unclear’ whether Biden could achieve the goal, referring to production challenges facing vaccine manufacturers. An article in the New York Times that day described the goal as “ambitious”, saying that its fulfillment “required no hiccup in the manufacture or distribution of the vaccine and a willingness on the part of Americans to be vaccinated. ‘, and added:’ Mr. According to experts, Biden’s timeline for vaccinations is achievable, but it could be optimistic. ”
In the Times, former Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst, was quoted as saying, “Distribution must be seamless across the U.S., and that means every state and local health department is coordinating. And there’s the issue of public trust. So I definitely hope that it happens, but (it is) very optimistic. ”
Nevertheless, the article or Garrett declared the purpose impossible. And the same day, The Atlantic staff writer Conor Friedersdorf tweeted that the goal was not ambitious enough.
More recent coverage has also conveyed a mix of views. CNN reported last week that government officials were “skeptical” about Biden reaching the goal. But Gupta said on Thursday, after Biden spoke, that he continues to believe the goal is realistic – adding that some may argue that the figure of 100 million is underlined, a reasonable amount of target, in terms of what is possible is.’
Gupta said Bupun’s plans to expand the availability of vaccines said: “I think you can get a number of significant numbers higher than they suggest, higher than 100 million doses in 100 days.”