Healthcare

WH deputy press secretary: We could have vaccine ‘shots in arms as early as Monday’

Published

12 months ago

December 11, 2020

Staff Writer

White House Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern joined Fox News’s Varney & Co Friday to give the latest updates on Operation Warp Speed.

Morgenstern said Operation Warp Speed is on track to far exceed Joe Biden’s goal of 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days in office.

“We are on page to far exceed that goal on that timeline over the course of the next several months,” Morgenstern said. “If it were only 100 million talking about March or April, that would actually be behind schedule. We’re talking about getting to 100 million by February potentially.”

“The man’s trying to take credit for the president’s achievement,” Stuart Varney said of Biden. “I think the president deserves full credit for what he has achieved.”

Morgenstern then said he expects shipments of the vaccinations to go out this weekend and begin possible distribution on Monday.

“We anticipate the FDA finally issuing the authorization, they’ve already given the signal, that means we think there will be shipments happening over the weekend and that we can have shots in arms as early as Monday,” Morgenstern said.

“That is extraordinary news for America thanks to President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed.”

Decisions on allocating vaccines are up to the states, and their plans must be approved by the federal government. The vaccine supply will be divided up based on population size. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention will issue guidelines outlining priority populations and the order in which the vaccinations should be distributed. The CDC guidelines are recommendations, not requirements.

Healthcare

American and Southwest stand by vaccine mandate, despite Abbott’s ban

Published

2 months ago

October 13, 2021

Staff Writer

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are still planning to comply with President Biden’s executive order regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. The order requires all their employees to be vaccinated by Dec. 8t. As a result, they will be ignoring Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on vaccine mandates.

Folks, vaccination requirements work. pic.twitter.com/XuBsOQxGaN
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 9, 2021

Abbott announced his own executive order, effectively banning mandates even from private employers, on Tuesday. “In another instance of federal overreach, the Biden Administration is now bullying many private entities into imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, causing workforce disruptions that threaten Texas’ continued recovery from the COVID-19 disaster,” Abbott said. “The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced.”

Yet both airlines are requiring their employees to be vaccinated by Nov. 24. This comes despite Southwest’s impromptu cancellation of over 2,000 flights over the weekend. At the time, the airline blamed the cancellations on air traffic control and weather conditions. However, SaraACarter.com was unable to verify that any other airline had to cancel near as many flights for the same reasons. This has left many to speculate that Southwest actually cancelled flights due to their employees walking out as a direct result of the mandate.

Just got passed this flyer from a Southwest employee #FreedomFlu pic.twitter.com/Q5gXGhxoma
— Handbrake Poso (@JackPosobiec) October 13, 2021

Reporter Jack Posobiec tweeted out a flyer circulating among the anti-vaxx Southwest employees. Currently, they are planning a protest outside of Southwest headquarters next Monday. The protest will be called “Freedom Not Force.”

Southwest told Reuters it “would be expected to comply with the President’s Order to remain compliant as a federal contractor.” In addition, American similarly said Abbott’s order does not change anything.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.