Fresh off his own recovery from COVID-19, White House correspondent for the conservative Fox News network—Peter Doocy—attempted to grill White House press secretary Jen Psaki over the effectiveness of the lifesaving vaccines against the virus that has killed more than 800 thousand Americans.
Fox News has repeatedly given a platform to vaccine skeptics, with on-air talent like far-right host Tucker Carlson even claiming the government is concealing their ineffectiveness.
Doocy criticized President Joe Biden's frequent claim that we're in a "pandemic of the unvaccinated."
Watch below.
Peter Doocy, fresh from a bout with Covid, is back in the White House briefing room pushing anti-vax talking points pic.twitter.com/ANykFim836
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 10, 2022
Doocy said:
"I understand that the science says the vaccines prevent death, but I'm triple-vaxed, still got COVID. You're triple-vaxed, still got COVID. Why is the President still referring to this as a pandemic of the unvaccinated?"
Psaki responded:
"There is a huge difference between [minor symptoms] and being unvaccinated. You are 17 times more likely to go to the hospital if you're not vaccinated, 20 times more likely to die. And those are significant, serious statistics. So, yes, the impact for people who are unvaccinated is far more dire than those who are vaccinated."
Doocy went on to ask if the administration would update its language regarding the vaccines, to which Psaki responded that they'd always been clear there would be breakthrough cases, the overwhelming majority of which are less severe.
As recently as November 20, vaccinated people accounted for around 95 cases per 100 thousand people, while unvaccinated people accounted for 474 cases per 100 thousand, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
People appreciated Psaki's emphasis on the risks of willfully remaining unvaccinated.
Psaki's on fire here. https://t.co/pjfG8wS4ub
— Margo Goodhand (@margogoodhand) January 10, 2022
My usual comment- I love her. https://t.co/XTkSzlDsGD
— John Fox (@JohnFoxNY) January 10, 2022
And Jen Psaki is there to effortlessly swat them down. https://t.co/iSRO4wyscM
— A Fox Called Spec (@spectrumfox) January 10, 2022
This is a softball and @PressSec hits it out of the park.
The idea that vaccines simply shut a pandemic down was never true. But they profoundly lowering death rates and serious illness and can help prevent our healthcare system and economy from collapsing. https://t.co/VdWBZJ0FKB
— Bob More (@Bobmorevc) January 10, 2022
Meanwhile, social media users were none too pleased with what Doocy's question seemed to suggest.
Imagine you & your immunocompromised wife, triple vaxxed, survive COVID w/a few days of discomfort
You come back to work & immediately push an anti-vaxx talking point about COVID not being a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" even as real-time stats from red states prove otherwise. https://t.co/QhGltJjVk1
— Fr. Robert R. Ballecer, SJ (@padresj) January 10, 2022
After his bout with Covid. Doocy still hasn't learned his lesson. Smdh. https://t.co/xi9DYnzLMl
— CHRISTIE BIVINGS (@CELB2000) January 10, 2022
This brainiac is one question away from asking why smoking bans haven't completely eliminated lung cancer. https://t.co/1OmzUYsqKB
— Luke Ranker (@lukeranker) January 11, 2022
I am convinced that Doocy is a secret liberal that puts himself in these situations to show how dumb Fox viewers are..... https://t.co/kiiGZ7TkKp
— SHELLEY (@educated_guest) January 10, 2022
Covid did not stop him from playing the fool. https://t.co/lE7jVcsXXD
— @GoodGirl (@GoodGir17753533) January 10, 2022
This is far from the first time Doocy and Psaki have had a tense exchange in the briefing room.
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