A Biden administration that vowed to restore Americansā faith in public health has grown increasingly paralyzed over how to combat the resurgence in vaccine skepticism.
And internally, aides and advisers concede there is no comprehensive plan for countering a movement thatās steadily expanded its influence on the presidentās watch.
The rising appeal of anti-vaccine activism has been underscored by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.ās insurgent presidential campaign and fueled by prominent factions of the GOP. The mainstreaming of a once-fringe movement has horrified federal health officials, who blame it for seeding dangerous conspiracy theories and bolstering a Covid-era backlash to the nationās broader public health practices.
But as President Joe Biden ramps up a reelection campaign centered on his vision for a post-pandemic America, thereās little interest among his aides in courting a high-profile vaccine fight ā and even less certainty of how to win.
āThereās a real challenge here,ā said one senior official whoās worked on the Covid response and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. āBut they keep just hoping itāll go away.ā
The White Houseās reticence is compounded by legal and practical concerns that have cut off key avenues for repelling the anti-vaccine movement, according to interviews with eight current and former administration officials and others close to the process.
Yeah forcing mandatory injections is definitely a really cool thing for a government to do. Canāt wait to see where that goes.
We already do it for school children
yeah donāt agree with it
Ok, have fun with stuff like measles smallpox and polio