Vaccines: Who deserves the credit?

President Joe Biden receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Source

With over 20% of Americans having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, it looks like President Biden’s vaccine implementation plan is working. The President’s goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of his administration is projected to be passed this Friday, March 26 — on day 58. There is a ton of room for improvement, with new variants spreading across the country, but for now, the vaccine’s rollout seems to be moving ahead smoothly. As politics has evolved into the game it is today, there is plenty of debate regarding who deserves the credit for mass vaccinations. 

Even before Biden took office, he praised President Trump's administration for their work in rolling out the vaccine in Operation Warp Speed, "I think that the administration deserves some credit, getting this off the ground, Operation Warp Speed,” Biden said after he received Pfizer’s vaccine. “... I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the vaccine. There's nothing to worry about.” Things have changed since December, when Biden praised Trump, however, and the former President doesn’t want to be left behind. He released a statement saying, “I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers!” 

There is absolutely some truth in the President’s words — Operation Warp Speed laid the foundation for the mass vaccinations that we have seen during the New Year. The Biden administration also inherited two vaccines with solid distribution plans in place. However, Trump’s “5 years” comment is borderline insanity and yet another attention-grabbing headline. 

President Biden’s implementation of the vaccine rollout plan is actually a shining example of a smooth government transition: the new administration’s dedication and focus on vaccinating as much of the population, safely, combined with the resources set up by Trump, have made the last few months some of the most promising ones yet during the COVID-19 crisis. The political clout game has only gotten worse, as Biden has drawn criticism for turning the pandemic into a political event and shifting positions. In stark contrast to the cohesive comments they made in December, Biden’s team has said publicly that he had inherited no plan to combat the pandemic. The White House has since backed off that argument, however, because it’s not technically accurate. The reality of the situation is that both sides deserve credit for the recent success of the vaccine and both administrations were critical in delivering it. Biden is correct in criticizing the former President’s overall COVID-19 policy, however, and has taken steps more in line with medical and public health experts to curb the spread. The vaccines are only one part of the overall public health issue that is COVID-19 and is an example of when the government can come together to do good for the country.