When the White House Can't Handle the Truth
Byron York
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Posted: Feb 10, 2021 12:01 AM
On Jan. 21, President Biden's first full day in office, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki began her briefing with this: "When the president asked me to serve in this role, we talked about the importance of bringing truth and transparency back to the briefing room." Now, the administration's position on opening schools shut by COVID lockdowns is testing that pledge.
Psaki's problem started on Feb. 3, when the White House COVID Response Team held a teleconference for the press. Among the group was Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the president's new choice to head the Centers for Disease Control. A reporter asked Walensky about the CDC's priorities for vaccination, and in particular whether "the federal government would be working more closely with states to kind of get more vaccinations to teachers, in particular, so that schools can reopen in the fall."
Walensky said that a group inside the CDC, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, had created a priority list for those receiving vaccinations. In December, the committee included teachers in what was called the 1b category, meaning they would be among those who should be next in line. But that wasn't law -- it was the CDC's guidance for states to follow, or not to follow.
"We've left that to the states to manage," Walensky explained, "in terms of recognizing the prioritization of ACIP, but also manage at their own local level."
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https://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2021/02/10/when-the-white-house-cant-handle-the-truth-n2584489
