Did President Joe Biden tell Americans to get COVID vaccinations as Hurricane Ian was bearing down on Florida in late September 2022? No, that's not true: A post suggesting he did uses a video recorded in August 2021, not on the eve of Ian's landfall. Biden made no mention of vaccines when he spoke about Hurricane Ian at the White House on September 27, 2022. A series of viral posts on social media is falsely claiming that Biden's remarks were recent.
The claim appeared in a video post on Facebook on September 27, 2022. The text introduction read:
'A vital part of preparing for hurricane season is to get vaccinated now. Everything is more complicated if you're not vaccinated in a hurricane or natural disaster hits.' -- President Joe Biden, Sept. 27, 2022
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Sep 28 15:08:09 2022 UTC)
This is the text of the video clip:
Let me be clear. If you're in a state where a hurricanes often strike like Florida or the Gulf Coast or into Texas, a vital part of preparing for hurricane season is to get vaccinated now. Everything is more complicated if you're not vaccinated in a hurricane or natural disaster hits.
The video was recorded at the White House during a briefing by the FEMA director, Homeland Security officials and the COVID response team on August 10, 2021, as the delta variant was spreading across the United States in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season. The full transcript of the president's remarks can be read here.
Biden did talk about preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Ian from the White House Rose Garden on September 27, 2022. The transcript, which you can read here, makes no mention of vaccinations.
The video clip appeared to have been initially tweeted by NewsMax host Benny Johnson on September 27, 2022, without the claim or implication that it was recent.
Never forget when Joe Biden told Americans to prepare for Hurricane season by getting Vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/3eNElVA5CP
-- Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 27, 2022
