Fact Check: Joe Biden Did NOT Advise Americans To Get COVID Vaccine Ahead Of Hurricane Ian

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fact Check: Joe Biden Did NOT Advise Americans To Get COVID Vaccine Ahead Of Hurricane Ian 2021 Advice

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:

image (2).png

Facebook screenshot

(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.

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Lead Stories is working with the CoronaVirusFacts/DatosCoronaVirus Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 fact-checkers who are fighting misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about the alliance here.


  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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