The week
Trump officials allegedly tried “shamelessly” to skip the COVID-19 vaccine line
Trump administration officials at almost all professional levels “shamelessly” tried to skip the COVID-19 vaccine line in the early stages of the national campaign late last year, a senior administration official told Vanity Fair. It is reported that it didn’t matter how healthy they were, whether they were working from home or how seriously they took precautions against the pandemic before vaccines were available. Orders were coming. It is unclear who and how many people were successful in their efforts to get vaccinated within the administration, but Vanity Fair notes that many of them hit a wall. “It’s not happening” was a common response to requests, said another senior government official. This was partly because former President Donald Trump made it clear that White House officials should wait for their turn. Still, the attempts appear to be representative of the government’s confused and arbitrary process to vaccinate federal officials. The plan, led by the National Security Council, was initially thought out carefully and involved months of deliberation on which federal workers should be prioritized. Ultimately, however, the strategy turned into a “boondoggle”, according to Vanity Fair, with much of the blame directed at General Gus Perna, who was in charge of vaccine distribution logistics. Perna reportedly refuted much of the original plan and instead declared that any federal agency that wanted a stockpile of shots would have to inform him personally. Some with knowledge of the process believe that the change came after Perna realized he could not keep his commitments to the states, forcing him to try to reduce the number of eligible federal employees. Read more at Vanity Fair. More stories from theweek.comCuomo vs. Inslee: a COVID-19 tale of two governorsWhat the revolution was – and is not – Tenet was stolen