Former head of the White House’s Operation Warp Speed partnership, Moncef Slaoui, said on Sunday that the Trump administration was responsible for “90 percent” of the COVID-19 vaccination plan so far.
In an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Slaoui fired back President Biden
Joe BidenBiden Bothered By Lack Of Confirmations Louisiana Special Election To Replace Richmond Heads To Larry Summers Blasts .9 T Stimulus As ‘Least Responsible’ Economic Policy In 40 Years MORE, who recently said former President Trump
Donald Trump Biden hindered by lack of confirmations Letlow wins Louisiana Special House election to replace deceased husband Number of migrant children in US custody passed 15,000: MORE report had failed to develop a coherent vaccine administration plan, order adequate doses, or set up vaccination sites.
“I think that’s a very negative description of reality,” said Slaoui.
“I think we had plans and in fact 90 percent of what’s happening now is the plan we had. The first, of course, was to speed up the development of the vaccine, ”he continued. “We specifically engineered 100 million doses of vaccine, but we also built in the contract options to purchase more vaccines once we knew they were effective. And the plan was to order more vaccines when we knew they were more effective. “
Pres. Biden has criticized the Trump White House for not providing sufficient COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Former Operation Warp Speed advisor Moncef Slaoui calls the characterization a “very negative description of reality … 90% of what’s happening now is the plan we had” pic.twitter.com/KWCBiQOfk6
– Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 21, 2021
Slaoui said he believed the former government could take credit for most of the production and distribution of the coronavirus vaccines. However, he added that the administration of vaccines and the use of the Federal Emergency Management Agency “was not part of the plan” and acknowledged that the Biden administration had been leading the way in those areas.
Brennan pressed Slaoui on any flaws he saw in the plan he had developed with the Trump administration, noting that several state governors reported problems at the start of the vaccine rollout,
“I think we have failed to communicate that the availability of vaccine doses will be slow over time because we have gone so fast. There is no stock of vaccine, it was impossible to get enough vaccines fast enough compared to expectations, ”said Slaoui.
In the same interview, Slaoui said Trump’s refusal to give in to the election may have delayed “ownership and full understanding” of the vaccine plan. He also said he believed it would have conveyed an “important message” had Trump received the vaccine on camera.