When it comes to wasting money, the Biden administration has few peers. Earlier in the year, Team Biden re-purposed billions of dollars to buy 170 million doses of the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. The problem is, few people are getting the shots.
The CDC reports that just 35 million people — roughly 11% of the population and only 15% of the 227 million people who have completed the primary vaccine series and are eligible for the new booster — have taken it in the three months since it was authorized.
But instead of examining why the response is so poor, the administration is resorting to its usual solution — spend more money. White House COVID-19 response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, has just announced a “six-week sprint” to convince Americans to get their updated vaccines.
The White House fact sheet for the new campaign reports that already “Over 70,000 locations are offering the updated COVID-19 vaccines, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken steps this month to expand to even more locations.”
