Joe Biden’s approach to handling the COVID-19 pandemic has come under conservative scrutiny, with critics arguing that his strategy was a significant failure. Despite this, Biden seems intent on making the issue a focal point of the 2024 presidential campaign, as evidenced by his recent remarks at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference. During his speech, Biden placed blame on former President Trump for what he perceived as a failure to vaccinate the public, which he claimed resulted in the deaths of over a million Americans.
Setting aside debates about vaccine effectiveness, Biden asserted that mass vaccination was the key to overcoming COVID. However, when examining the timeline and facts, it becomes apparent that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were already available in December 2020, developed under Operation Warp Speed initiated by the Trump administration. The Trump administration had ordered a substantial number of vaccine doses before Biden took office, and Biden inherited a vaccine distribution plan that continued the trajectory set by Trump.
Contrary to Biden’s claims, the United States did not lose a million lives to COVID during Trump’s tenure. The tragic milestone of a million COVID deaths was reached 16 months into Biden’s term. Biden, despite being in office for an extended period, continued to attribute the situation to Trump, blaming him for the alleged lack of vaccinations and the subsequent loss of American lives to the virus.
In May 2022, Biden acknowledged the one million American lives lost to COVID-19, framing it as a tragic milestone. However, critics point out that by late December 2021, more Americans had died from COVID under Biden’s leadership than under Trump’s. Despite campaigning on having a comprehensive plan to combat COVID, Biden’s presidency saw a higher death toll, and the million-death milestone occurred well into his term, raising questions about the effectiveness of his response to the pandemic.
