Ruddy: Biden's Good Job on the Vaccine
Pres. Biden’s March White House speech announcing key goals of the vaccine rollout. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
By Christopher RuddyTuesday, 20 July 2021
As a journalist, I believe in giving credit where it’s due.
Six months into his administration, President Joe Biden should be applauded for making a huge dent in the COVID pandemic. He inherited an effective vaccine from President Donald Trump, took it into his arms, and ran with it.
The success of this approach has been obvious. Serious deaths and hospitalizations (the most important COVID data) have collapsed. Meanwhile, Biden’s approval numbers have been high, despite a bitter election and a polarizing political environment.
The recent Real Clear Politics average has him with a 52 percent job approval, against a disapproval of 43 percent – a nine-point positive spread. And the IBD/TIPP poll, one of the most accurate of the 2020 election, has him even better with 54 percent approval – a 16-point positive spread against his 38 percent disapproval.
I personally like what Biden has done with the vaccine. He started by embracing the Trump-backed vaccine. I heard that in the early days of the administration, Biden himself was on a call discussing the rollout of the vaccine with some at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others, wanting delays in the rollout. Biden himself would have none of it. He took charge in the call and said there would be no delay.
After that, Biden pushed for relaxed mask and social distancing guidelines from the CDC, to the consternation of "lockdown" Democratic governors like Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsom of California.
And rightfully, his White House has pushed back against calls for mandatory vaccinations (which has little public support; even the major teachers unions oppose such a move).
The bottom line: The vaccines are safe and effective. More than 3.6 billion shots have been given worldwide, and some 338 million here in the U.S. alone. Meanwhile, deaths caused by the coronavirus have fallen to record lows, with almost negligible side effects to those vaccinated.
At Newsmax, we have strongly advocated for the public to be vaccinated. The many medical experts who have appeared on our network have been near unanimous in support of the vaccine. I myself have gotten the Pfizer vaccine.
There’s no question in my mind, countless lives would have been saved if the vaccine was available earlier. (cont.)
https://www.newsmax.com/ruddy/vaccin...20/id/1029248/