On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that President Joe Biden’s declaration that the coronavirus pandemic is over was a statement that “it is not disruptive as it was before. We are in a different place, and he has been consistent in saying that.”
Host Alex Wagner asked, “Now, does he think the pandemic is over?”
Jean-Pierre responded, “So, let me just put this into context a little bit. So, when he was asked this question, he was walking through the Detroit Auto Show, which had not been open — or had not been held, I should say, in three years. And even as we’re talking about UNGA (the United Nations General Assembly), he’s going to UNGA, and it hasn’t been held in person in three years. So, we are in a different place because of the work that this administration has done because we are prepared, because there’s treatment, because there are vaccines, because there are tests. And so, when you look at where we are today, 90% — when he walked in, the deaths were about 3,000 a day, which was really awful. That’s what we were seeing. Now, that number has gone down by 90%. If you think about, schools are now open, businesses are now open, because of the work of what this administration has done. So, he is saying, it is not disruptive as it was before. We are in a different place, and he has been consistent in saying that.”
She continued, “But, there is still more work to do. In order to be able to continue to get [this] vaccine — for these next generation, if you will, of vaccines and treatments, we have to continue to do the work. And that’s why we’re asking Congress, hey, we need that funding to continue what we have been doing. 220 million people are fully vaccinated. Why is that? It’s because of the work that this administration has done. That’s 77% of the population. Again, we are not — it’s not as disruptive as it was before. We are managing this now. We know what works. We have the tests. We have the vaccines. We have the treatment. But again, we have to think about the future.”
Wagner then asked, “So, maybe — I’m trying to glean the essence of this is, it’s not over, we are seeing some kind of light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re still in the tunnel. Is that what you want Americans to feel?”
Jean-Pierre responded, “Yes. We’re seeing — and here’s the thing, Americans are feeling that themselves. That’s why, when he was walking through the halls of the Detroit Auto Show, he pointed out how people were not wearing masks, and now the Auto Show is open again, and that matters for folks, right? This is a different time than we were when we walked in, January of 2021, and that is because of what we have been able to do, a comprehensive vaccination program that we have been able to put forth because it was so important to manage this the right way in order to turn our economy back on, in order to get our schools open, in order to get — save some of these small businesses, get that going again. And that’s what he’s talking about. It is not disrupting our lives the way that it has been. It’s not controlling our lives the way that it has been. Do we have more work to do? Yes. And he actually said that, as you just laid out, in his comments on ’60 Minutes.'”
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