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, give me a break, man. It’s a good start – 100 million.”
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 was a realistic goal, since Biden had a plan.
A short article on the CNN analysis states that achieving the goal would be a ‘massive undertaking’ and that Biden generally had 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 assistant to 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 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, citing production challenges facing vaccine manufacturers. A New York Times article that day described the goal as “ambitious”, saying its fulfillment was “no hiccup in the manufacture or distribution of the vaccine and a willingness on the part of Americans to be vaccinated,” requires: ‘Mr. Biden’s timeline for vaccination is achievable, experts say, but it could be optimistic. ‘
In the Times, former Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst, quoted as saying, “Distribution across the U.S. must be seamless, and that means every state and local health department coordinates. 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 are “skeptical” about Biden achieving the goal. But Gupta said Thursday, after Biden spoke, that he continues to believe the goal is realistic – adding that some may argue that the 100 million mark underscores a reasonable amount of target in terms of what is possible . ‘
Gupta said: “I think you can get a number of significant numbers higher than they suggest, more than 100 million doses in 100 days.”
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