Biden warns vaccination misinformation on social media is ‘killing people’, White House urges Facebook to intervene

‘The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they’re killing people,’ Biden told reporters at the White House

Scepticism has been fuelled both by false posts online and by Republican politicians claiming vaccinations are part of attempts at government control

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US President Joe Biden during a news conference. Photo: AP

Published: 8:56am, 17 Jul 2021Updated: 9:28pm, 17 Jul 2021

US President Joe Biden on Friday said social media misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccinations is “killing people” and the White House said Facebook needs to clean up its act.

“They’re killing people. The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they’re killing people,” Biden told reporters at the White House, as he left for a weekend at the presidential retreat in Camp David.

The White House is turning up the pressure on social media companies to weed out what officials say is widely spread misinformation on coronavirus vaccinations.

According to US health officials, a current spike in Covid-19 deaths and illnesses around the country is almost exclusively hitting people who remain unvaccinated.

“There is a clear message that is coming through: this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky told reporters on Friday.

Many of those refusing vaccinations, despite the ease of availability throughout the United States, have said they do not trust the shots.