Rochelle Walensky is the new CDC director and the “party of science” is already trying their best to argue with her. We can remember a time when Trump was supposed to be the CDC’s biggest enemy.
He was accused of humiliating his own CDC chief during a press conference. Robert Redfield drew his ire because he projected a timeline for vaccine availability that did not jibe with Trump’s plans.
Trump did not like what Redfield had to say about the matter because he was predicting that the vaccines would not be available until the middle of this year. Of course, Trump wanted the vaccines to be ready before the election, as this would allow him to score some much needed goodwill with the American voter.
At the time, this was treated as a horrific occurrence that needed to be discussed over and over again. Trump was anti-science! The Democrats are the party of science! When he accused Redfield of having confusion about the timeline, it was all fire and brimstone. Now, the new administration is making the same mistakes that they claimed they wouldn’t.
Jen Psaki is engaging in the same sort of behavior. Walensky let reporters know that teachers are safe to return to schools without being vaccinated. What happened to stepping aside and listening to what the CDC has to say? All of that is going out the window now. At first, we thought that Joe wanted all of the schools open.
He needs the schools to be opened back up as soon as possible because this nation’s children cannot afford to continue procrastinating on their education. Sleepy Joe knows that the long term damage would be very tough for the nation to overcome. He was even saying that the schools would be back open by March.
That’s why the new stimulus bill is supposed to include all types of financial provisions that are designed to keep the teachers protected. If these educators do not want to return to a classroom setting, these funds are supposed to help keep them safe and assuage their fears. “During a press briefing later Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki walked back Walensky’s comments, saying that they were not “official guidance” from the CDC.
If Walensky were here, she would say “that they have not released their official guidance from the CDC yet on the vaccination of teachers and what would be needed to ensure the safe reopening of schools,” Psaki said,” according to CNBC reports.
Fox News has more and you’re not going to believe this but she got more condescending today! “Psaki also said that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky wasn’t discussing official CDC guidance but rather new data as she’s repeatedly said in recent days that teachers don’t need to be vaccinated for schools to reopen in person.
“Dr. Walensky spoke to this in her personal capacity. Obviously, she’s the head of the CDC. But we’re going to wait for the final guidance to come out so we can use that as a guide for schools around the country,” Psaki said.
“[Biden] believes that even with vaccinations for teachers or for any American, that there are a number of other mitigation steps that are important to take … the wearing of masks, social distancing, ventilation, these are all factors that are important for… the reopening of schools,” Fox reports.
We are not sure how someone can walk back what was said at a press briefing like this. It’s not her “personal capacity” at that point. Biden and Psaki got the call from their union patrons and now they are going to have to walk things back.
If teachers are not going to feel safe until they and all of the students are vaccinated, this needs to become national priority. Stop trying to throw money at problems like these, Joe. It’s clearly not going to work.
