Jennifer Rene Psaki and Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan

“ Right?But I am — but the way that we have seen through data, the way that our health and medical experts have conveyed to us, is that making it accessible — doing that through community health centers; ensuring there is access and supply; making sure that local doctors, faith leaders, community leaders have access to that, have the information, is incredibly effective. ”

“ A big issue though is access and accessibility and meeting people where they are, regardless of their political affiliation. And so one of the steps we’ve taken and we can effectively do outside of any partisan politics is ensure that there are locations with trusted — in trusted locations — community health centers, pharmacies — where anybody of any political persuasion can get the vaccine, and they don’t need to wear a Joe Biden sticker in order to do that. ”

“ We absolutely are coordinating, discussing, sharing best practices. And, of course, addressing the global pandemic is something that comes up in nearly every conversation, if not every conversation, the President, our Secretary of State, National Security Advisor have at every level.There are a lot of lessons we’ve certainly learned over the last couple of months, and I’m sure our team would be happy to share them. ”

“ But we will communicate that the United States is going to take steps, in terms of what we do on technology, to ensure that our technology is not being used in ways that are inimical to our values or adverse to our security. ”

“ That might require something more like what you’re talking about.We’re talking about the American people being motivated and excited by the fact that — that if they get vaccinated, if they abide by — that there is going to be access — there will be access to vaccines; they will be eligible; and if they take steps to get vaccinated, to continue to wear masks, continue to observe social distancing, then, looking ahead to July 4th as an aspirational moment where people can plan small get-togethers in their backyard. ”

“ Is there outreach to Trump or to any other high-profile Republicans to talk to these Republicans who say they will never take the vaccine (inaudible) ? MS. PSAKI: I guess what I’m trying to say, but maybe not clearly enough, is that we recognize, as a Democratic administration with a Democratic President, that we may not be the most effective messenger to communicate with hardcore supporters of the former President. And we have to be clear-eyed about that.Now, we also know that it is not always famous people who are the most effective messengers. ”

“ What it is, is an opportunity for these four democracies to work as a group, and also with other countries, on fundamental issues of economics, technology, climate, and security.So I’m not going to get into detail on what the elements of that security will look like because we have work to do as an emergent institution to define what the agenda looks like.
What we know is that broad-based maritime security is already core to the Quad agenda, that humanitarian assistance and disaster response and the work of our militaries in that space is already on the agenda. ”

“ The four leaders did discuss the challenge posed by China, and they made clear that none of them have any illusions about China. But today was not fundamentally about China. Much of the focus was on pressing global crises, including the climate crisis and COVID-19.
And with respect to COVID-19, these four leaders made a massive joint commitment today: With Indian manufacturing, U.S. technology, Japanese and American financing, and Australian logistics capability, the Quad committed to delivering up to 1 billion doses to ASEAN, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond by the end of 2022. ”

“ And as far as China is concerned, the United States, as he has said repeatedly, believes that we are going to end up in a stiff competition with China, and we intend to prevail in that competition. And he is amassing the sources of strength that we need to be able to prevail. And that is 100 percent in line with everything that Joe Biden said on the campaign trail. And 50 days in, we believe we are in a better position to deal with the challenge from China than we — than we were the day that he took office. ”

“ You’ve made very clear and the President has made very clear that the goal and the priority is Americans. Do you — does he see any moral dilemma in sitting on some vaccine — we don’t know the exact amount — that has been approved elsewhere, that could be saving other people’s lives in other countries, while the process drags on for however long it will in the United States. ”

“ And obviously, we’ve been increasing supply nearly every single week; actually, every single week, we probably have been increasing supply. And as you all know, we will also have more and more doses. We have — we’ll have access to, as a fed- — as the federal government, to ensure that states are getting an increase in supply.It’s going to be decisions made state by state on how they provide clarity to the people in their state. I believe Alaska is a state that has already moved to eligibility for everyone. ”

“ How is temporarily tightening War Power restrictions in places like Somalia, Yemen, and Libya going to be beneficial to the U.S., whereas ambassadors in those places used to be able to give the go-ahead, now the White House has to, at least for now, give the green light before these actions can be taken? ”

“ There are a number of effective voices in the region, including leaders in the region, including voice — partners we need to have in the region, NGOs and others, to deliver the same message that now is not the time to come; that the majority of people are turned away at the border, which is backed up by factual data; that adults, families will be turned away at the border in almost every scenario. ”

“ And we executed a strong joint response to Russia’s poisoning of Aleksey Navalny. We’ve begun deep consultations with our European partners on a common approach to our concerns with China.
In Asia, just in the last few days, we’ve reached new hosting agreements for our troops and our bases with both Korea and Japan. And now we’ve taken the Quad to a new level.
So make no mistake: Today is a big day for American diplomacy, this summit is a big deal for the President and for the country, and we’re looking forward to the work ahead. ”

“ But the United States will happily work with countries around the world to make sure that we are doing our part, not just to make sure every last American citizen is vaccinated as quickly as possible, but that the rest of the world gets vaccinated as quickly as possible as well. ”

“ And what is still a circumstance where — you know, yes, he outlined last night that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but 1,400 Americans are dying every single day. And he wants to have, as the leader of this country, maximum flexibility.Now, as Jake just outlined, he also wants to be a key member of the global community and send the message that we are — want to be collaborative and cooperative and work with other countries to get the global pandemic under control. ”

“ Obviously he made some significant announcements last night about the timeline of that, and we will have enough doses in our hands by the end of May to ensure we can make that happen.
AstraZeneca is also not yet approved by the FDA. We also want to make sure we have maximal flexibility, that we are oversupplied and over-prepared, and that we have the ability to provide vaccines — whatever the most effective ones are — to the American public. There are still 1,400 people who are dying in our country every single day, and we need to focus on addressing that. ”

“ Are you worried that the vaccine hesitancy from these Republicans — they’re white Republicans — will make it harder for President Biden’s goal to vaccinate all adults by summer?And what is your guys’ thought — or what is the administration doing to persuade Republicans, in particular, to get vaccinated? ”

“ And so we are very open to looking — to working with a range of partners and messengers, outside groups, outside organizations, and conveying exactly that, because we believe that ensuring the public is vaccinated and saving lives is something that transcends political party. ”

“ And so when I was talking about access, what I was getting at is that doctors, medical experts, community leaders are often not seen as — faith leaders — as partisan officials. And so we also work to empower, to provide funding, to work with these different organizations to get into communities and convey this is safe, it’s effective, it will save lives, this is not a partisan issue. ”

“ A lot of states also have their own — their own websites where people can go. And, of course, pharmacies, as you know — in a program we’ve massively expanded as part of the announcement last night — you can do scheduling through there.This is a website that will make it possible for Americans to go see where there is supply available, and we just wanted to make sure that it was — we had the time to have that up and ready. But we are confident we can do that by that timeline. ”

“ I would say, obviously, we’re focused on vaccinating, you know, eligible Americans in the country, but we do believe that eligi- — vaccinating as many people as possible keeps all of us safe and keeps all of us — and ensures the safety of all people living here, but I’m not aware of any plans.We are very focused on addressing and taking steps to address the public health challenges that we’re seeing in the bor- — across the border, of course, with the pure number of people — the number of people who are in CBP facilities and in the shelters. ”

“ Those who are — you know, come into the country and are treated with alternatives to detention — sometimes that’s ankle bracelets and other means of tracking — DHS works with city and county leaders, as well as public health officials, to provide COVID-19 testing, and, as needed, isolation and quarantine for families released from Border Patrol facilities. ”

“ I want to ask you a question about immigration diplomacy. When he was Vice President, Joe Biden went to Guatemala in the summer of 2014. You were on that trip as his national security advisor at the time. He went because of what was then an unprecedented surge of unaccompanied minors coming across the border.One of the things he said on that trip, in June of 2014, was: “We can, A, first make clear in each of our countries in an unrelenting way, not just with a public service announcement, that there is no free pass ”

“ And we — we see that on the horizon.So we have taken a number of steps in communities where we feel we can be very effective messengers in, and that includes — you know, just statistically, just because I know you were giving a statistic about, kind of, white, conservative Republicans — but black and brown communities are actually the hardest hit by the pandemic: two times more death — deaths and hospitalizations Also, communities where there is high levels of vaccine hesitancy. ”

“ Diplomacy with Iran is ongoing, just not in a direct fashion at the moment. There are communications through the Europeans and through others that enable us to explain to the Iranians what our position is, with respect to the compliance-for-compliance approach, and to hear what their position is. ”

“ We know there are more children — children under the age of 18 who are, of course, coming across the border. That is consistent with what our policy has been.But in terms of people who are turned away — who are coming to the border, who are turned away — I mean, those numbers — are people hearing that? ”

“ Q So is it safe to say that, by July 4th, you think we’re in the ballpark where you could have most adult Americans vaccinated? MS. PSAKI: Well, I — again, many of the factors are out of our control, including individuals being willing to take the vaccine. And that’s why it was so important for the President to convey that it is safe, it is effective. Tell your friends and neighbors it’s safe and effective. ”

“ And that’s something we’ve talked about a bit in here, in terms of a proposal that was made by DHS and FEMA in coordination with NGOs and local authorities to fully cover and pay for the testing that, up to this point, the governor has declined that proposal.
Q But based on what you have said before and our understanding of the policy, it’s just guidance that these migrants who test positive — many of them are instructed, “You should go and quarantine and isolate.” Do you know — does the administration know how many actually do versus how many actually just go off to wherever? ”

“ It transcends, you know, disagreements about a range of issues, and so we are very open to that and recognize that we are not always the — going to be the right voice or the right face for that message. ”

“ They also play a key role in, you know, working with local communities on addressing needs that come up — NGOs broadly, but many of them are faith-based as well.So, you know, I think we see faith-based organizations as an important partner in addressing — in addressing the — the challenges we’re facing at the border and ensuring that these kids who are coming across are treated humanely, are treated — are — find safe — safe shelters and safe locations to be while their cases are being adjudicated. ”

“ The leaders also agreed that they would meet in person before the end of the year, and they launched a set of working groups, including an emerging technology group that will help set standards in key technologies like 5G and artificial intelligence, and another on cyber that will help our four countries meet this growing threat. ”

“ There also is an independent investigation that is ongoing, of course, in the state, with subpoena power overseen by the attorney general, and he certainly supports that moving forward.We, of course, have watched the news of a number of lawmakers call for that, but I don’t have any additional announcements from here. ”