White House press secretary Jen Psaki skirted a question Wednesday about the Biden administration’s position on coronavirus vaccine mandates but encouraged private companies to take “innovative steps” toward inoculating their workers and customers.
“There are institutions; there are private-sector entities that will take the step. We’re not standing in their way. Those are innovative steps,” Psaki told reporters flying with the president to Illinois on Wednesday. “Go forward and take steps that you feel are appropriate. We’re just talking about what the steps are, what the role is of the federal government.”
Later in her gaggle, the top White House spokeswoman seemed to agree with another question about how the administration is “trapped between the people saying, ‘You need to do more. You need to mandate, or you’re just not going to reach people,’ and the people saying, ‘Oh my god, the government is going to mandate this.'”
BIDEN PLEDGES TO GO DOOR-TO-DOOR AFTER VACCINATION EFFORTS FALL SHORT OF JULY 4 GOAL
“Sure,” she responded. “But I think what we continue to remember is what constructive role we can play as the federal government, and that includes continuing to use resources to get out into communities to empower public health officials to get accurate information out to ensure people understand, as the CDC put out information earlier today or overnight, that 50% of the cases are now as a result of the delta variant higher in areas where there are lower vaccination rates. That is the role where we’re going to spend our energy and our resources.”
Psaki’s comments come as multiple news outlets report that the administration’s efforts to boost vaccination rates have stalled, especially among young adults aged 18-30.
President Joe Biden himself seemed to acknowledge the shortcomings of the administration’s outreach in remarks he delivered from the White House on Tuesday.
“Now we need to go to community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and oftentimes, door to door, literally knocking on doors, to get help to the remaining people protected from the virus,” he stated. “Look, equity, equality — it remains at the heart of our responsibility of ensuring that communities that are the hardest hit by the virus have the information and the access to get vaccinated.”
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You can listen to Wednesday’s entire gaggle below.
