“Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace pressed National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins about President Joe Biden’s push for COVID-19 booster shots.
Wallace spoke with Collins about Biden’s plan — which would have all Americans begin receiving booster shots eight months after their initial vaccine doses — and the fact that the FDA had voted only to recommend boosters for those over 65 or with weakened immune systems. (RELATED: ‘I Don’t Want To Hear Their Crap’: Chris Wallace Admits He’s ‘Purposely’ Kept Election Deniers Off His Show Whenever Possible)
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Wallace argued that Biden had gotten out ahead of the experts when he suggested that booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine would be available for all Americans in the coming days only to have the FDA advisory panel vote that down, 16-2.
“Back during the campaign, he talked a lot about ‘follow the science.’ Isn’t announcing a specific date and a specific plan for the general population before any of the regulars — the FDA, the CDC — have approved it, isn’t that the exact opposite of ‘follow the science’?” Wallace challenged.
“They did encourage, and vote for, the administration of boosters to people over 65, and those at high risk of exposure,” Collins replied, arguing that because of the way the initial vaccine doses had been distributed, those would be the people who would be eligible for booster doses immediately.
“Those are the people who would be most likely to reach that eight-month period — because that’s how we prioritized initial immunizations back in January. So I don’t think there’s huge differences here,” Collins continued.
Collins then appeared to chastise Wallace for asking a political question about the vaccine boosters rather than focusing on whether or not the science was sound.
“Maybe we ought to be talking more about that than whether the president said this a month ago and FDA said this on Friday,” Collins said. “Let’s try to get the science right and do it transparently and openly so everybody sees what the process looks like.”