– It takes the lives of people. The only pandemic we have is among those who have not been vaccinated, Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday.
The White House is increasing the pressure on social media, especially Facebook, to clean up the spread of what the authorities refer to as misinformation about coronary vaccines.
Press secretary Jen Psaki said that “everyone has a role to play in ensuring that there is reliable information” and claims that Facebook is not fast enough to remove posts that are problematic.
– There are about twelve people who produce 65 percent of all misinformation about vaccines on social media. Everyone is still active on Facebook, despite the fact that some of them have been banned from other platforms, Psaki said.
Facebook thunders
Facebook strongly rejects Biden and Psaki’s criticism and says the company helps save lives.
– We do not let ourselves be distracted by accusations that are not substantiated with facts, says a spokesperson from Facebook to AFP.
The fact is that more than two billion people have seen official information about covid-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than anywhere else on the internet. More than 3.3 million Americans have also used our tool to find out where and how they can be vaccinated. Facts show that Facebook helps save lives, it is said in the harsh answer.
Pandemic among unvaccinated
The president used the same words as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, when he met with the press on Friday. She spoke after 33,000 new cases of covid-19 were reported on Thursday.
– There is a clear message that is now coming: This is about to become a pandemic among the unvaccinated, she said.
The average number of infections for the last seven days has increased to 23,306, an increase of 70 percent from the previous week. Also in the United States, the delta variant of the coronavirus is becoming the most dominant.
During the same period, hospital admissions have increased by about 36 percent, and the number of deaths related to the pandemic has increased by 26 percent, the CDC states.
Widespread skepticism
Many of those who refuse to be vaccinated, despite the fact that the vaccines are readily available, say they do not trust them.
The skepticism is spread both by disinformation from anti-vaccine communities, but also increasingly by Republican politicians who claim that the vaccines are an attempt by the authorities to control people.
In total, the pandemic has killed 624,285 people in the United States. Fully vaccinated individuals with either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are protected against serious illness, hospitalization and death.
So far, 56 percent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose, and 48 percent have been fully vaccinated. In comparison, 59 per cent have received at least one dose in Norway, and 30 per cent have been fully vaccinated.
– .
