Establishment Media Dragged Pence for Saying We'd Have a Vaccine by Year's End - Will They Attack Fauci for Saying the Same?
Vice President Mike Pence received some major pushback from members of the establishment media for boldly predicting during the Republican National Convention last month that there would be a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year.
However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — and the ultimate purveyor of all scientific truth regarding the coronavirus, in the establishment media’s estimation — is now saying the same thing.
“I believe that by the time we get to the end of this calendar year that we will feel comfortable that we do have a safe and effective vaccine,” Fauci told NBC’s “Today” on Wednesday.
He also expressed confidence in vaccine trials undertaken, saying there is “enough data that you would really feel comfortable it was safe and effective for the American public.”
The media cast aspersions last week during the RNC convention when Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, countered Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s charge that the administration is waiting for a miracle to end the pandemic.
“What Joe doesn’t seem to understand is that America is a nation of miracles, and I’m proud to report we’re on track to have the world’s first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year,” Pence said.
NBC News cast shade on Pence’s statement, reporting, “While scientists have made considerable progress in developing a safe and effective vaccine, it’s far from assured that one will be ready to be delivered by the end of the year.”
The New Yorker’s John Cassidy, noting that Pence “dismissed Biden’s statement last week that there was no miracle in the offing to end the pandemic,” labeled the vice president’s speech as a whole a “travesty of the truth
Rolling Stone’s article was headlined, “Mike Pence Doubles Down on ‘Miracle’ as Plan for Moving Past Pandemic.” That was very deceptive, as the vice president was saying it’s a miracle how quickly a vaccine is being developed.
“Though having a vaccine to administer to the general population by the year’s end has a nice ring to it, most experts don’t see it happening until at least early next year,” Rolling Stone’s Ryan Bort wrote.
“Others are looking further into the future, as safe, effective vaccines typically take years if not decades to develop,” he said.
Finally, former Republican campaign operative (for John McCain and George W. Bush) and frequent MSNBC guest Steve Schmidt accused Pence of telling “the most spectacular lie of this convention.”
“There is no vaccine on track to be ready by the end of the year,” Schmidt tweeted.
Mike Pence just told the most spectacular lie of this convention which is overflowing with them. There is no vaccine on track to be ready by the end of the year. Pence is a hypocritical and sanctimonious liar who worked for the cigarette industry. Remember that as he deceives
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) August 27, 2020
Such certainty from someone who is really in no position to know.
If both Fauci and Pence, who are engaged in the fight, are saying the U.S. is on track to have a vaccine by the end of the year, Schmidt and his fellow media lackeys might want to dial back their rhetoric.
It’s clear the establishment media have been working hard to undermine and discredit every decision, good and bad, this administration has made in response to the coronavirus.
President Donald Trump, Pence and their team have gotten a lot of the big things right, such as shutting down foreign travel early, ramping up ventilator and PPE production, exponentially expanding COVID-19 testing like no other nation on earth, purchasing and distributing treatments such as Remdesivir, and launching Operation Warp Speed to develop an effective vaccine.
The establishment media might not like offering any praise to the Trump administration, but a vaccine by year’s end would be a major win and worthy of celebration by all.
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