White House Tackles Media Over COVID Reports
In a rather bizarre twist, the Biden administration has condemned the country’s biggest newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, over COVID reports saying the coronavirus is spreading among vaccinated US citizens.
White House Deputy Director of Strategic Communications & Engagement, Ben Wakana, put up a spirited response to the newspapers’ viral tweets.
The basis of the Washington Post’s tweet was a CDC study focusing on a “massive” outbreak among vaccinated people in the state of Massachusetts. According to the tweet, vaccinated people constitute seventy-five percent of infected people in the said outbreak. Wakana described this as “completely irresponsible.”
Wakana continued, “3 days ago the CDC made clear that vaccinated individuals represent a VERY SMALL amount of transmission occurring around the country. Virtually all hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated. Unreal to not put that in context.”
A Washington Post spokesperson responded to news outlets that the paper was “looking into” the situation.
On the other hand, the New York Times tweeted what it described as “Breaking News” where it said the Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and “may be” spread as much by vaccinated people as the unvaccinated. Again, the Times quotes the “internal CDC report.” Mr. Wakana would respond in like manner. His tweet, delivered in all caps, pointed out that vaccinated people do not share the same transmission rate as unvaccinated people.
Wakana clarified in a further tweet that nine out of ten vaccinated people will leave unscathed if they walked in and out of a room “full of COVID.”
The latest face-off will come as a surprise to those familiar with the Washington Post and the Times’ largely positive coverage of Democrats and the Biden administration. Wakana probably crossed a line previously ignored by administration officials.
Related Reading: Should Americans Be Worried about the New Coronavirus Delta Variant?
