Dr. Fauci: Vaccine distribution effort 'not starting from scratch'
White House chief medical adviser provides insight to the Biden administration's vaccine distribution plan
Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared Thursday to completely debunk CNN's much-criticized report that the Biden administration was "starting from scratch" with its coronavirus vaccine rollout after anonymous sources claimed that the new White House inherited "no plan" from the Trump administration.
Earlier in the day, CNN quoted unnamed Biden officials alleging that "There is nothing for us to rework. We are going to have to build everything from scratch," as well as that the new administration would have to start from "square one."
During the White House press briefing, Fauci was asked directly by NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker if the new administration was "starting from scratch."
"We certainly are not starting from scratch because there is activity going on in the distribution," Fauci responded before elaborating on the Biden administration's own plan.
CNN heavily pushed the story prior to the briefing. According to Fourth Watch media critic and former CNN producer Steve Krakauer, the anti-Trump network had mentioned its now-disputed scoop "a total of 23 times" before Fauci faced the press.
CNN White House correspondent MJ Lee, who authored the controversial report, defended her reporting on social media, characterizing Fauci as "a holdover from the Trump administration."
Lee also attempted to rely on President Biden's earlier comments to validate her reporting, tweeting, "In the last hour, Biden said Trump's vaccine rollout had been a 'dismal failure.'"
The CNN reporter was mocked for referring to Fauci as a "holdover" from President Trump.
"Lee, after getting spun bad info by her source, labels Fauci a 'holdover from the Trump administration' !! Yikes," Krakauer reacted.
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"A 'holdover'? Technically he's in a new position in the Biden admin, so not a holdover. But if we're playing this stupid game, he's a holdover from the Reagan Administration," GOP strategist Luke Thompson tweeted.
"The only thing more embarrassing than MJ Lee’s fake news about Biden 'starting from scratch' on the vaccine is this tweet," Grabien Media founder and news editor Tom Elliott wrote.
CNN did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.