Biden HHS Secretary Defends Door-to-Door Vaccine Push: ‘Absolutely the Government’s Business’ to Keep People Alive
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra defended President Joe Biden’s encouragement of a door-to-door campaign to get more Americans vaccinated from the coronavirus.
In a press event this week, Biden implored the unvaccinated around the country to get inoculated as the highly-contagious Delta variant of Covid continues to spread. Biden also said his administration would look at door-to-door community efforts to push vaccines, though conservatives have panned the idea by claiming it would be government overreach.
CNN’s Brianna Keilar interviewed Becerra on Thursday, and she asked for his response to Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) saying “it’s none of the government’s business knowing” who is vaccinated and who isn’t.
It’s NONE of the governments business knowing who has or hasn’t been vaccinated. https://t.co/XgjYggRUFh
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) July 6, 2021
“Perhaps we should point out that the federal government has spent trillions of dollars to try to keep Americans alive during this pandemic,” Becerra said. “So it is absolutely the government’s business. It is taxpayers’ business if we have to continue to spend money to try to keep people from contracting Covid and helping reopen the economy. So it is our business to try to make sure Americans can prosper, Americans can freely associate, and knocking on a door has never been against the law. You don’t have to answer, but we hope you do.”
Keilar also asked Becerra for his reaction to those arguing that the Biden administration needs to pursue a “proof of vaccination” effort. Becerra said Biden was “open” to the idea, adding “we’re going to go where you are so you can get vaccinated and we’ll do everything we can.”
We want to give people the sense that they have the freedom to choose. But we hope they choose to live, and we’re going to make it possible for them to have a good life, and by the way, protect their family and loved ones at the same time. We hope people make the right choices. We want them to have the right information. But we are America. We try to give people as much freedom and choice as possible. But clearly, when over 600,000 Americans have died, the best choice is to get vaccinated.
Watch above, via CNN.
