PORTAGE, MI – A small group of protesters was outside the Pfizer building in Portage while President Joseph Biden visited the facility where the COVID-19 vaccine is being produced.
The group of 10 played music, rang cow bells and held up posters criticizing the president and governor Gretchen Whitmer, who joined the president on the tour of the vaccine’s production facilities.
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John Clore drove from Lansing, wearing his superhero uniform COVID Man, made of a laundry basket wrapped in plastic, anti-scratch suit and the flag of the former Soviet Union as a cape.
The group was made up of individuals who met in clashes and “stop theft” rallies throughout the year. The protest group shrank after the January uprising on the United States Capitol, said Grand Rapids resident Steven Lee.
Lee was among those who drove to Washington DC to stop the theft demonstrations and marched to the Capitol. Lee said he did not enter the Capitol building, but the response to the insurrection impacted his close circle of friends. Videos posted by him and his girlfriend on social media generated visits from the federal government, he said.
“Since then, there has been a massive drop,” Lee said of the local group of protesters to prevent the theft.
He describes himself as a long-time “true” person, skeptical of mandatory vaccines before the pandemic. Although Lee said he is not against the vaccine or those who decide to take it, he fears that the government and the corporate relationship to launch the COVID-19 vaccine are infringing on his choices.
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He said he was concerned that the COVID-19 vaccine could become a requirement for jobs or group events, such as concerts.
If Lee could speak to Biden individually, his message would be simple: “Leave us alone.”
State Rep. Steve Carra, R-St. Joseph joined the group to express his skepticism about how quickly the vaccine was produced. He said the government was overreacting by federally funding its production and distribution.
“Just like bread, if you want to buy bread that should come out of your pocket,” said Carra. “If you want to get the vaccine. Go ahead, go buy it. That is your choice. “
To speed up vaccine production, the Trump administration initiated the $ 18 billion Warp Speed Project. Pfizer distanced itself from the project and did not accept initial funding for the research portion of the Warp Speed Project.
The company signed agreements with the federal government for the commercialization of the vaccine. The Trump administration has ordered a total of 200 million doses from Pfizer. The second semester was contracted to arrive in June. Biden announced that Pfizer had agreed to speed up the process a month earlier for the doses to be delivered in May.
Contracts for another 100 million Pfizer vaccines were also finalized last week. Biden said the country is on track to have sufficient supplies for 300 million doses by the end of July.
Carra also questions the unprecedented speed with which the vaccine was made.
The COVID-19 vaccine was produced, approved and distributed in nine months. The production of vaccines by Pfizer and BioNTech far surpassed the mumps vaccine, which was developed in four years and distributed to the public in 1977.
Jon Rocha, a member of the Michigan Needs an Adjustment group on Facebook, which gathered about 55,000 followers, said the discussion around the vaccine need not be political.
“I think you can be excited about the ingenuity and values of hard work and getting things done quickly,” he said. “But you still have to get there skeptically, say it all right, why did you come so fast.”
Pharmaceutical companies give credit to mRNA technology for its fast pace. The German company BioNTech took the lead and was already testing mRNA vaccines for influenza, Zika and rabies virus.
Project Warp Speed has also been enabled for faster approval. Still, the Food and Drug Administration has set the emergency use limit for COVID-19 vaccines to be 50% effective.
The Pfizer BioNTech product reached 95% effectiveness and was approved by the FDA on December 11 for emergency authorization.
A group of Burmese defenders in Portage also protested on Friday asking Biden to “end the coup” in Myanmar.
On February 1, the military took control of the Southeast Asian country’s government after a general election in which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won.
The group met in front of Kalamazoo / Battle Creek International airport, where Air Force One landed and left during the presidential visit.
As Biden’s entourage reentered the airport through a gate along Portage Road, protesters collectively visited the president, asking for his help. Shortly thereafter, the president boarded Air Force One and, around 4:20 pm, left Kalamazoo.
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