Joe Biden made false claims about COVID, child tax-credit: Reports

President Joe Biden took part in the second CNN town hall of his presidency on Wednesday in Cincinnati, answering questions from anchor Don Lemon and local people.

CNN has alleged that Biden made a number of incorrect or misleading assertions during his February town hall. Although a thorough investigation of everything he said on Wednesday night is yet to be conducted, here’s a summary of some of his comments that were found to be misleading by CNN.

COVID-19 vaccines

Biden urged Americans to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine, saying, “If you’re vaccinated, you’re not going to be hospitalized, you’re not going to be in the ICU unit and you’re not going to die.”

In a subsequent conversation, Biden stated that even if vaccinated individuals “catch the virus, they are “not likely to get sick.” However, during a third discussion, Biden stated that the vaccinations “cover” the highly transmissible Delta virus variant: “You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations.”

First, Biden’s second assertion, that vaccinated persons are “not likely to get sick” is correct. However, his sweeping claims in his first and third statements — that vaccinated persons will “not be hospitalised,” “not die,” and “not get COVID” even with the highly infectious Delta strain — were misleading, CNN reported.

Also Read: US sanctions Cuba for repressing protests, Biden warns more to come

COVID-19 vaccinations are extremely effective, lowering the risk of infection, severe illness, and death. They do not, however, promise that individuals will not contract the illness, be hospitalised, or die, contrary to Biden’s categorical statements. Vaccinated members of Biden’s staff have also been affected. So have a top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a number of Democratic state lawmakers from Texas who have visited Washington, DC this month, and a number of other high-profile individuals.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not endorse Biden’s strong statement. According to the CDC’s website, “vaccine breakthrough cases will occur, even though the vaccines are working as expected” and “there will be a small percentage of fully vaccinated people who still get sick, are hospitalized or die from COVID-19.”

The child tax credit

Biden bragged about his increase of the child tax credit, which was included in the $1.9 trillion relief package he signed into law in March. He said, “It’s called the child tax credit. If you have a child under the age of 7, you get 300 bucks a month — 350 bucks a month. If you have a child under — between 7 and 17, you get a total of 200 bucks a month.”

First, the facts: Biden was incorrect in two ways: the amount of the tax credit for the two age groups, as well as what the two age groups are, CNN reported.

The following age categories are used to calculate how much money a family gets from the tax credit: 1) Children aged 6 to 17 (rather than 7 to 17 as Biden stated): 2) Children under the age of six (not under 7 as Biden said).

Parents with children aged 6 to 17 can get up to $250 per month for each of their children, not $200 as Biden said. They receive up to $300 per month for each kid under the age of six; Biden initially stated this figure, but later mistakenly increased it to $350.

Also Read: ‘Keep telling the truth’: Joe Biden on COVID vaccine misinformation in US

Biden’s initial vaccination goal

Biden said, “Now, by the way, remember when I first got elected, the issue was, well, I said I was going to do a million shots a week, and people said, ‘Biden can’t do that’ or ‘Biden team can’t do that.’ And it was 2 million.”

First, the facts: Biden made an error here, CNN reported. His first aim, which was met with scepticism by some, was 1 million COVID-19 shots each day, not 1 million shots “per week.” Biden has set a goal of launching 100 million shots in his first 100 days.

Biden then increased the goal to 200 million shots in the first 100 days of his presidency. That objective was met.