Biden's Bleary-Eyed COVID-19 Focus

The administration plans to focus on vaccinating children, who face relatively little risk from COVID-19.

Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash

The CDC says 96.2% of Americans who have died from COVID-19 since June 2, 2022 were over the age of 45, while 3.7% were under the age of 45.

Of the subset of COVID deaths in the 45 and under group, there were 442 deaths of children under the age of five.

This demographic profile is the missing backdrop of a press release issued last week by the White House extolling President Joe Biden’s “historic” plan to get children under the age of five vaccinated.

Clearly, the vast majority of people who die from COVID are older Americans and especially those aged 65 and older, who represent approximately 76% of all COVID deaths during the first six months of 2022. This is an alarming seven percent (7%) increase over 2021.

What’s the plan, man?

Every COVID death is a tragedy that should be averted, and it is appropriate to divert resources to children. But where is the administration’s plan to address the threat of COVID to those who are by far at the greatest risk - older Americans?

In the press release, Biden congratulates himself for getting 220 million Americans vaccinated, over 100 million people boosted, and says that COVID-19 deaths are “down 90 percent since he took office.”

But it isn’t over. Even with advances in treatment, COVID was the third leading cause of death in 2021, after cancer and heart disease. It continues to kill about 26,000 predominantly older Americans every month.

New research warns that new variants are challenging the protection offered by vaccines.

In reality, America’s COVID response was an unmitigated disaster. The U.S. experienced far more deaths from COVID-19 per 100,000 population than any other wealthy industrialized nation. The U.S. death rate is comparable to India, a third world country with 1.4 billion people.

More than a million Americans have died from COVID since 2020.

Diverting COVID Funding…

Meanwhile, Biden last month urged states and cities to use unspent money from last year’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package to fund police and crime protection.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-LA, tweeted Friday that Democrats spent $53 million of the COVID relief funds to remodel a city hall with ergonomic chairs, $28.5 million to renovate apartments with a view of the Space Needle, $12 million to expand a minor league baseball statement and $7.2 million on horse racing.

And the U.S. Congress continues to refuse to authorize Biden’s $10 billion request for new funding for COVID vaccines, testing and to fight new variants. So Biden is diverting more than $10 billion it planned to spend on COVID testing and personal protective equipment to purchase new vaccines and treatment for fall.