Tipsheet

Just Being 'Equitable': Psaki Denies Biden Cut COVID Treatments to Red States

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  September 16, 2021 4:40 PM

After President Biden attacked Republican governors in an address on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki denied reports that Biden was cutting lifesaving Wuhan coronavirus treatments to red states.

Reports that the Biden administration is reducing the quantity of monoclonal antibody treatments sent to Florida and Texas, among other states with Republican governors, are "not accurate," Psaki said. 

"First of all, we are increasing our distribution this month by 50 percent," she explained. "In early August we were distributing an average of 100,000 doses per week, now we're shipping an average of 150,000 doses per week," Psaki added.

And because the U.S. "supply is not unlimited," Psaki added, "we believe it should be equitable across states across the country." Highlighting one of the many issues with central government control over the distribution of resources, Psaki declared that "Our role, as the government overseeing the entire country, is to be equitable in how we distribute." Explaining how the Biden administration views equity in this situation, Psaki said "we're not going to give a greater percentage to Florida over Oklahoma."

It's hard to imagine that Biden would have told then-Governor Cuomo of New York or Governor Newsom of California that they wouldn't be receiving the full amount of lifesaving monoclonal antibodies they requested because Oklahoma needed to get the same "equitable" amount. It's also hard to imagine the media would give cover to President Trump if he decided to tell Democrat governors that he'd be withholding a lifesaving treatment. 

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For Florida's part, Governor DeSantis responded by securing more supplies to meet their demand without the help of the federal government. With residents of the Sunshine State getting vaccinated at a rate above the national average — debunking Psaki's attempt to blame Floridians for being lax with COVID precautions — it's clear that Biden, Psaki, and the rest of the administration are simply punishing Florida for Ron DeSantis' leadership in a way that could threaten American lives.