Redfield tells Senate panel $6 billion more is needed to help states and cities develop distribution plans; $250 million reportedly being used for public relations push
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked senators Wednesday for billions of dollars more for COVID-19 vaccine distribution as he addressed allegations of political interference and disclosed that the Trump administration transferred $300 million from the CDC for a public relations campaign.
During a Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, CDC Director Robert Redfield told Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the subcommittee’s ranking member, that the Health and Human Services Department and the Office of Management and Budget directed the CDC to transfer $300 million to the HHS public affairs office.
Of that amount, $250 million is reportedly being used for a public relations campaign “to defeat despair and inspire hope” in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 200,000 Americans. Lawmakers view the ads as an attempt to cast the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19 in a positive light. Redfield said that since the transfer was made, the CDC hasn’t been involved in the campaign and hasn’t been asked to weigh in with scientific expertise. Continue reading.