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Press Secretary Jen Psaki Says Criticism Of Door-To-Door Vaccination Campaign Is A ‘Disservice To The Country’

Screenshot via YouTube/Washington Post

Daniel O'Keefe Contributor
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that criticism of the Biden administration’s plan to go door-to-door in order to convince more Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine is a “disservice to the country.”

President Joe Biden’s original Tuesday announcement that the federal government would be going “door-to-door” as part of a vaccination campaign sparked almost immediate backlash from conservatives both in and out of office. (RELATED: Marjorie Taylor Greene Compares Biden’s Door-To-Door Vaccine Push To Nazi Storm Troopers)

“We don’t maintain a database along those lines and have no plans to. We do know where there are rates of vaccination across the country and we know, as I just listed in some of the data, that there are tactics that are powerful and impactful,” Psaki said, according to Townhall. “I will say the thing that is a bit frustrating to us is that when people are critical of these tactics, it’s really a disservice to the country and to the doctors, faith leaders, community leaders and others who are working to get people vaccinated.”

Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent a letter to Biden condemning the announced campaign.

“I, along with many Arizonans, was greatly alarmed by your White House indicating that it might be in possession of medical records revealing the contact information for Americans who have not been vaccinated,” Brnovich wrote. “If this is the case, this is a severe breach of privacy, and I will not tolerate such intrusions within Arizona.”

Officials say the government is not obtaining private medical information for non-vaccinated Americans. The administration has been making use of public data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to focus on areas with low rates of vaccination, an official told the Daily Caller.

“Using CDC data, we targeted areas with low vaccination rates and large ‘movable’ populations, and knocked on every door there,” the official said. “We saw movement in states where we deployed this tactic, including in Alabama, Florida, Texas and Georgia which had vaccination rates above the national average in the month of June. We plan to continue this work moving forward in the months ahead.”

Psaki also said Thursday the people visiting houses were “not federal government employees.”

“These are grassroots voices across the country. They are not members of the government, they are not federal government employees,” Psaki said. “They are volunteers, they are clergy, they are trusted voices in communities that are playing this role and door-knocking.”