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Promised vaccine stockpile doesn't even exist? Governors demand Trump 'answer immediately for this deception'
January 16, 2021
Earlier this week, the White House said the federal government would soon release coronavirus vaccine doses stored for second shots, but governors expecting increased shipments discovered Friday that no national stockpile exists, and now they are demanding that President Donald Trump's administration be held accountable for deceiving the American public.
"Governors were told repeatedly by [the Department of Health and Human Services] there was a strategic reserve of vaccines, and this week, the American people were told it'd be released to increase supply of vaccine," tweeted Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Friday. "It appears now that no reserve exists. The Trump admin. must answer immediately for this deception."
<p>State officials nationwide—who on Tuesday had been instructed by HHS Secretary Alex Azar to broaden inoculation eligibility criteria—learned roughly 72 hours later that the so-called vaccine reserve had already been exhausted by the time they were told to plan for a surge in supply.</p><p>"The Trump administration had already begun shipping out what was available beginning at the end of December, taking second doses directly off the manufacturing line,"<em> The Washington Post</em><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/15/trump-vaccine-reserve-used-up/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> reported </a>Friday. </p><p>"Health officials across the country who had anticipated their extremely limited vaccine supply as much as doubling beginning next week are confronting the reality that their allocations will remain largely flat, dashing hopes of dramatically expanding access for millions of elderly people and those with high-risk medical conditions," the <em>Post</em> reported.</p><p>"Health officials in some cities and states were informed in recent days about the reality of the situation," the newspaper noted, "while others are still in the dark."</p><p>Like Inslee, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) <a href="https://twitter.com/oregongovbrown/status/1350109252807913473" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted </a>Friday that she received "disturbing news" on Thursday about the absence of a federal stockpile. She said the news was confirmed by Gen. Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, which is overseeing vaccine distribution efforts.</p><p>"I am demanding answers from the Trump administration," said Brown. "I am shocked and appalled that they have set an expectation on which they could not deliver, with such grave consequences."</p><p>"This is deception on a national scale," she added. "Oregon's seniors, teachers, all of us, were depending on the promise of Oregon's share of the federal reserve of vaccines being released to us."</p> <p>While the White House's "initial policy was to hold back second doses to protect against the possibility of manufacturing disruptions," unnamed state and local health officials told the <em>Post</em> that the "approach shifted in recent weeks."</p><p>Health officials knowledgeable about the matter were told that Operation Warp Speed "stopped stockpiling second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the end of last year," the<em> Post</em> noted. "The last shots held in reserve of Moderna's supply, meanwhile, began shipping out over the weekend." As the newspaper reported:</p> <blockquote> The shift, in both cases, had to do with increased confidence in the supply chain, so that Operation Warp Speed leaders felt they could reliably anticipate the availability of doses for booster shots—required three weeks later in the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech product and four weeks later under Moderna's protocol.<br/> </blockquote> <blockquote> But it also meant there was no stockpile of second doses waiting to be shipped, as Trump administration officials suggested this week. <br/> </blockquote> <p>State and local officials are "angry and bewildered by the shifting directions and changing explanations of supply," the <em>Post</em> reported. As one unnamed official put it, states "thought they were getting more doses and they planned for more doses and opened up to 65 and up, thinking they were getting more."</p> <p>Robert Cruickshank, campaign director at Demand Progress, <a href="https://twitter.com/cruickshank/status/1350103746219450368" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">called</a> the Trump administration's bait-and-switch on stockpiled vaccines "horrific."</p><p>Critics say that news of the nonexistent reserve of doses underscores the extent to which the federal government has bungled the vaccine rollout, along with the broader response to the Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed the <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lives</a> of more than 390,000 people—and counting—in the U.S. alone.</p><p><em>The Associated Press</em> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-mississippi-georgia-coronavirus-pandemic-south-carolina-9edff9cdee1c9adc3a5152bc5a5db83f" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported </a>Friday that less than 2% of the population in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina had received the first dose of the vaccine at the start of this week, according to data from those states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p><p>In late December, <em>Common Dreams</em><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/30/warp-speed-current-pace-us-will-take-10-years-adequately-vaccinate-public-against" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> reported</a> that if the U.S. failed to accelerate the rate at which vaccines were allocated, it would take nearly a decade for the country to inoculate an adequate number of Americans to get the pandemic under control.</p><p>"We should have had major warehouses located around the country so that as soon as the FDA greenlighted a vaccine, it could quickly be delivered to hospitals and clinics in every corner of the country," Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/12/28/distribution-vaccines-biggest-trump-screw-yet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">argued</a> at the time. "We should have been prepared to start inoculating millions of people the day a vaccine was approved. This is a massive policy failure."</p><p>To make up for the slow start, Cruickshank said that President-elect Joe Biden "needs to immediately use the Defense Production Act to massively speed up vaccinations."</p><p>Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday wrote a letter to the heads of Operation Warp Speed in which the congresswomen explain how to "fully embrace using the Defense Production Act to bolster our vaccine supply."</p><p>"Thousands are dying from Covid-19 each day," Porter <a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1350171827428093956" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>. "We can't waste anymore time."</p>
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The question of whether Donald Trump will pardon his supporters who have been arrested for the violent insurrection was raised on the CBS station in the Dallas-Ft. Worth media market on Friday night.
"I think we all deserve a pardon. I'm facing a prison sentence. I think I do not deserve that and from what I understand, every person is going to be arrested that was there, so I think everyone deserves a pardon, so I would ask the President of the United States to give me a pardon," said North Texas realtor Jenna Ryan.
<p>Ryan is facing federal charges after flying in a private plane for the January 6th rally to overturn the election.</p><p>She <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-rioter-2649952996/" target="_blank">pitched her real estate business during the insurrection</a>.</p><p>Watch:</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://w3.cdn.anvato.net/player/prod/v3/anvload.html?key=eyJtIjoiY2JzIiwidiI6IjUyMDUyMjYiLCJhbnZhY2siOiI1VkQ2RXlkNmRqZXdiQ21Od0JGbnNKajE3WUF2R1J3bCIsInNoYXJlTGluayI6Imh0dHBzOi8vY2JzbG9jLmFsLzJMQmxPNlkiLCJwbHVnaW5zIjp7ImNvbXNjb3JlIjp7ImNsaWVudElkIjoiMzAwMDAyMyIsImMzIjoiRGFsbGFzLmNic2xvY2FsLmNvbSJ9LCJkZnAiOnsiY2xpZW50U2lkZSI6eyJhZFRhZ1VybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vcHViYWRzLmcuZG91YmxlY2xpY2submV0L2dhbXBhZC9hZHM%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%3D" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></div>
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by Jon Skolnik
On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on seven foreign members of Rudy Giuliani's inner circle who sought to interfere in the U.S. election and sway the results in Trump's favor. The president has also reportedly dropped his reliance on Giuliani for his second impeachment trial, refusing to pay Giuliani for his unsuccessful post-election campaign to overturn November's results. Meanwhile, the New York State Bar Association has moved to disbar Giuliani this week. Needless to say, the week after he told thousands of Trump supporters to hold "trial by combat" before many of them violently stormed the U.S. Capitol with aims to halt the Constitutionally mandated certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week for Rudy Giuliani.
<p>
<em><a href="https://www.salon.com/2021/01/15/rudy-giuliani-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-week/" target="_blank">This article originally appeared at Salon.</a> </em>
</p><p> </p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cf845ba319a27831a595982b744ef727" id="8d4d5"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1349705473788882951"><div style="margin:1em 0">So #Rudy...now @POTUS is refusing to pay your legal bills as he’s has mine. #SueHisAss https://t.co/tvgLWgiYuL</div> — Michael Cohen (@Michael Cohen)<a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelCohen212/statuses/1349705473788882951">1610629835.0</a></blockquote></div>The Treasury's targets include Russian-linked Ukrainians Konstantin Kulyk, Oleksandr Onyshchenko, Andriy Telizhenko, Oleksandr Dubinsky, and –– most principally –– Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker sanctioned <p></p><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/10/us-sanctions-giuliani-ally-for-involvement-in-election-meddling.html" target="_blank">just last year</a>, who played a key role in orchestrating the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory. It was with the help of these actors that Giuliani spearheaded a failed campaign to smear President-elect Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, with false claims of past corruption. Trump's call to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky –– in which the President pressured Zelensky to investigate Hunter Biden on his behalf –– would become the impetus for the President's own <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/14/trump-says-he-was-looking-corruption-ukraine-where-president-zelensky-was-known-mocking-corruption-ukraine/" target="_blank">impeachment</a>. </p><p><br/><br/></p><p>
"Since at least 2019," said the Treasury in <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1232" target="_blank">a statement</a> on Wednesday, "Derkach and his associates have leveraged U.S. media, U.S.-based social media platforms, and influential U.S. persons to spread misleading and unsubstantiated allegations that current and former U.S. officials engaged in corruption, money laundering, and unlawful political influence in Ukraine."
</p><p>
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a steadfast Trump loyalist, also attempted to <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1232" target="_blank">add distance between his agency and Giuliani and his goons</a>. "Russian disinformation campaigns targeting American citizens are a threat to our democracy [...] The United States will continue to aggressively defend the integrity of our election systems and processes."
</p><p>
"Trump has been blaming his longtime personal attorney and many others for the predicament he now finds himself in, though he has not accepted any responsibility in public or in private," CNN reported this week. "Giuliani is still expected to play a role in Trump's impeachment defense but has been left out of most conversations thus far."
</p><p>
The New York State Bar Association has also made moves to disavow Giuliani in light of last Wednesday's chaos. The Bar <a href="https://nysba.org/new-york-state-bar-association-launches-historic-inquiry-into-removing-trump-attorney-rudy-giuliani-from-its-membership/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced</a> on Monday that it has launched an inquiry into Giuliani's role in Trump's months-long crusade to undermine the election. The group's bylaws make explicit reference to anyone "who advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States, or of any state, territory or possession thereof, or of any political subdivision therein, by force or other illegal means" and disowns anyone who has engaged in such activity.
</p><p>
The Association stated, "Mr. Giuliani's words quite clearly were intended to encourage Trump supporters unhappy with the election's outcome to take matters into their own hands," adding, "Their subsequent attack on the Capitol was nothing short of an attempted coup, intended to prevent the peaceful transition of power."
</p><p>
Giuliani, who called for "a trial by combat" in the rally leading up the riot on Capitol Hill, now faces the threat of permanent expulsion from the Bar, which would render him unlicensed to practice law in the state of New York. "We cannot stand idly by," said the Association, "and allow those intent on rending the fabric of our democracy to go unchecked."
</p>
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