Biden blames social media for vaccine misinformation

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday targeted social media platforms like Facebook for allowing the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines as many Americans’ resistance to getting shots has left wide swaths of the country vulnerable to the more contagious delta variant.

“They’re killing people,” he said as he left the White House for Camp David. “The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they’re killing people.”

The president’s remark in answer to a reporter’s question came at the end of a week in which the White House began to push back more strongly against misinformation about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, blaming it for some Americans’ unwillingness to get their shots.

His reaction followed a Friday report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying cases in the U.S. are up around 70% over the last week, hospital admissions have climbed about 36% and deaths rose by 26%.

Although caseloads remain far below those at the pandemic’s worst moments, the number of infections is increasing in every state, and rising numbers of deaths are expected in the coming weeks.

Roughly half of the country is fully inoculated and the vaccines remain effective against the delta variant, limiting the potential devastation from the growing outbreaks. But the latest infections could herald a wave of unnecessary deaths in a nation with the largest stockpile of vaccines.

The resurgence of COVID19 cases represents a setback for Mr. Biden, who staked his presidency on ending the pandemic and ushering in an economic recovery. The increases are greatest in areas that favored his rival, former President Donald Trump, reflecting the politicization of the pandemic response in the prior administration, which left many conservatives averse to wearing masks, social distancing and, ultimately, getting vaccines.

Data released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows a widening gap in vaccination rates between red and blue counties. As of April 22, 22.8% of residents in counties that voted for Mr. Biden were fully vaccinated, compared with 20.6% in counties that voted for Mr. Trump. As of July 6, 44.7% of people in pro-Biden counties were vaccinated, versus 35% in those that favored Mr. Trump.

“Each COVID-19 death is tragic,” Jeff Zients, the head of Mr. Biden’s task force on the pandemic response, said at a briefing Friday. “And those happening now are even more tragic because they are preventable.”

Polls show that Republicans are much less willing than Democrats and independents to get vaccinated. Right-wing media and conservative politicians have encouraged skepticism.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has baselessly suggested that side effects of the vaccines can cause death.

Alarmed by such falsehoods, the Biden administration is fighting back. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued his first formal health advisory on Thursday, warning that misinformation around COVID19 vaccines poses an “imminent and insidious threat.”

“Simply put, health misinformation has cost us lives,” Dr. Murthy said Friday.