{"id":1198025,"date":"2022-01-07T19:04:50","date_gmt":"2022-01-08T00:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1198025"},"modified":"2022-01-07T19:04:55","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T00:04:55","slug":"fact-check-jen-psaki-lies-about-ron-desantis-and-coronavirus-vaccinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-jen-psaki-lies-about-ron-desantis-and-coronavirus-vaccinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact Check: Jen Psaki Lies About Ron DeSantis and Coronavirus Vaccinations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-jen-psaki-lies-about-ron-desantis-and-coronavirus-vaccinations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1198025&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">CLAIM: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday suggested that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has dropped the ball and failed to advocate vaccines for the Chinese coronavirus in his state.<\/p>\n<p>VERDICT: False. While DeSantis has championed individual freedom and placed a special emphasis on lifesaving coronavirus treatment, he also promoted the widespread availability of vaccines \u2014 prioritizing seniors and the vulnerable first \u2014 earning him malicious attacks from the mainstream media.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_15323742\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1291649898.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15323742\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1291649898.jpg\" alt=\"POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 16: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushes Vera Leip, 88, in her wheelchair after she received a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the John Knox Village Continuing Care Retirement Community on December 16, 2020 in Pompano Beach, Florida. The facility, one of the first in the country to do so, vaccinated approximately 170 people including healthcare workers and elder care people. (Photo by Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushes Vera Leip, 88, in her wheelchair after she received a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the John Knox Village Continuing Care Retirement Community on December 16, 2020 in Pompano Beach, Florida. &nbsp;Joe Raedle\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Psaki <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/press-briefings\/2022\/01\/06\/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-january-6-2022\/\">responded<\/a> to DeSantis\u2019s remarks after he critiqued the Biden administration\u2019s strategy of mass testing rather than placing an emphasis on the vulnerable population.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says that he\u2019ll be sending tests to nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and within senior communities. So, does the White House have any plans to limit tests through the website it\u2019ll be launching to vulnerable communities? And what\u2019s your response to Governor DeSantis?\u201d a reporter asked Psaki, who dismissed the critique:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Well, I would first say that we have taken a number of steps to provide tests at a much larger, expansive capacity than that to vulnerable communities across the country. That has been part of the president\u2019s effort to quadruple our testing capacity to provide the 5 million tests to community health centers, rural health centers, and to work with local health officials to ensure that we\u2019re reaching communities that need help the most. And that is part of our commitment to approaching our effort to get the pandemic under control through \u2014 through the lens of equity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI would say it\u2019s pretty rich coming from Governor DeSantis, given he is somebody who has been advocating \u2014 not exactly advocating for people in his state to get vaccinated, which we know is the way that people can be protected, ways that lives can be saved,\u201d Psaki asserted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAnd if he wants to be a constructive part of this process, then perhaps he should encourage what scientists say is the best way to save lives, prevent and reduce hospitalization, and that is getting vaccinated and getting boosted,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>However, her assertion \u2014 that DeSantis has not touted the widespread availability of vaccines \u2014 is demonstrably false. While he is not forcing individuals to get the jab, his initial vaccine rollout \u2014 prioritizing seniors \u2014 was successful and efficient, earning him smears from the mainstream media.<\/p>\n<p>Last April, for example, CBS News\u2019s <em>60 Minutes<\/em> maliciously edited a clip of the governor to make it seem as if he dodged a question about pay for play in the state\u2019s vaccine rollout.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPublix, as you know, donated $100,000 to your campaign,\u201d the outlet\u2019s&nbsp;correspondent&nbsp;Sharyn Alfonsi said. \u201cAnd then you rewarded them with the exclusive rights to distribute the vaccination in Palm Beach \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst, of all what you\u2019re saying is wrong,\u201d DeSantis shot back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow is that not pay for play?\u201d Alfonsi responded.<\/p>\n<p>In the segment, the outlet failed to provide his full answer, making it seem as if he dodged the question. In fact, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/60-minutes-accused-editing-exchange-desantis-sharyn-alfonsi\">provided<\/a> a detailed answer:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cFirst of all, the first pharmacies that had [the vaccine]&nbsp;were CVS and Walgreens and they had a long-term care mission, so they were going to the long-term care facilities. They got the vaccine in the middle of December, they started going to the long-term care facilities the third week in December to do LTCs,\u201d DeSantis told Alfonsi. \u201cSo that was their mission, that was very important and we trusted them to do that. As we got into January, we wanted to expand the distribution points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo yes, you had the counties, you had some drive-thru sites, you had hospitals that were doing a lot, but&nbsp;we wanted to get it into communities more. So we reached out to other retail pharmacies:&nbsp;Publix, Walmart, obviously CVS and Walgreens had to finish&nbsp;that mission and we said we\u2019re going to use you as soon as you\u2019re done with that,\u201d DeSantis continued.<\/p>\n<p>DeSantis added that Publix was the \u201cfirst one to raise their hand\u201d &nbsp;and to say they were ready to distribute the vaccine. The vaccine was then rolled out on a \u201ctrial basis\u201d in three counties; seniors gave the rollout \u201c100%&nbsp;positive\u201d feedback.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><i>60 Minutes\u2019 <\/i>fake news narrative was so out of line that it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/04\/05\/publix-blasts-minutes-desantis-narrative-absolutely-false\/\">prompted<\/a>&nbsp;Publix to release a&nbsp;statement as well, dismissing it as \u201cirresponsible,\u201d as well as \u201cabsolutely false and offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That aside, over the last year, DeSantis has continually promoted his simple position that the Chinese coronavirus vaccine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/21\/ron-desantis-calls-special-session-to-take-legislative-action-against-vaccine-mandates\/\">should be<\/a> \u201cavailable for all, but mandatory for none,\u201d giving Floridians the choice to get the shot \u2014 a choice the Biden administration evidently takes issue with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CLAIM: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday suggested that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has dropped the ball and failed to advocate vaccines for the Chinese coronavirus in &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1198025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1198025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1198025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1198025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1198025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}