Selective: Jen Psaki’s Strike Forces Phrase Does Not Mean Forced Vaccines
The Claim
The Biden Administration has created a new strike force that will necessitate coronavirus vaccines upon unwilling people.
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Emerging story
During a July 6th White House briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki described the White House’s ongoing efforts to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to American citizens. “We’re going to continue to press to get 12- to 18-year-olds vaccinated, to continue to work with communities where there are lower vaccination rates,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons we initiated these strike forces to go into communities and work with them to determine what they need; to take a localized, specific approach that works with elected officials and communities.”
The press briefing was over an hour long, and addressed many other subjects. Soon after, social media users began to hone in on the phrase “strike forces.” A video clip of this part of the briefing appeared online, with the title “White House announces ‘strike forces’ to target anti-vaxxers.” Another video claimed to have “acquired” a document from the government, which allegedly instructed strike force members to trespass, lie, and force vaccines on unwilling people.
Many on social media are now declaring that they will resist the strike force's vaccination attempts. Some of these posts have gained thousands of interactions.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that Psaki’s “strike force” comment has been widely misinterpreted. Psaki and the Biden Administration have stated that there is no reason to expect any vaccine mandates. Furthermore, health outreach workers have never been instructed to administer vaccines door-to-door, rather their job is to share information and improve community access.
The phrase “strike force” is mentioned only once in the press briefing, which also contains no references to making vaccines mandatory. At one point a reporter asks about mandates, to which Psaki replies, “I wouldn’t predict a federal mandate.” The reporter follows up by asking if Psaki would encourage employers and schools to impose mandates. “We’re going to leave it up to them to make these decisions,” she says.
“Strike force” is a phrase that Psaki uses frequently, regarding numerous issues. Since the July 6th press briefing, she has used this phrase to describe the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce the prevalence of illegal guns in American cities. Psaki has also used the phrase to describe a U.S. representative-led team that would identify unfair trade practices.
We could not identify any instances in which vaccine outreach efforts force vaccines upon people. Local news sources have also clarified that no one is going from door to door to administer vaccines, but only to talk with people in the community.
The document described in the above videos that allegedly supports the concern over “strike forces” is simply a government description of the approaches taken by health ambassadors when talking with communities. It is also publicly available online, and it has a .gov URL. The document does not come from The White House, the FBI, or some other top government agency, but belongs to the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center in Illinois. It comprises a range of “helpful hints” for knocking on community doors and talking with people about vaccines.
Health ambassadors have not been instructed to participate in any illegal activity. For instance, the part that the video alleges to be about trespassing states that health ambassadors can ignore no soliciting signs, as they are not soliciting. They are “offering critical information and resources,” as the document states. This statement is correct: offering vital information/resources is not a solicitation. The Lake County Sheriff's Office defines a solicitor as a person who is engaged in the act of gaining orders for the purchase of goods/services. As the health ambassadors are offering a free health service, they do not meet their county’s definition of soliciting.
The Lake County document also advises health ambassadors to take a soft approach to community outreach. For example, the third helpful hint listed is, “Inform, don’t convince...You are not trying to convince anyone to do something they don’t want to do.”
