Rita Shreffler Declaration Re: — Children's Health Defense v. Facebook, Inc., et al.

Full text

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

RITA SHREFFLER DECLARATION RE:
MOTION TO FILE RULE 15(d) SUPPLEMENT
CHD v. Facebook et al.; Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-Si
1
ROGER I. TEICH
California State Bar No. 147076
290 Nevada Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Telephone:  (415) 948-0045
E-Mail Address:  rteich@juno.com

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.
MARY HOLLAND
Children’s Health Defense
1227 North Peachtree Parkway, Suite 202
Peachtree City, GA 30269
Telephone:  (917) 743-3868
E-Mail Address:  mary.holland@childrenshealthdefense.org
(Subject to pro hac vice admission)

Attorneys for Plaintiff
CHILDREN’S HEALTH DEFENSE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

CHILDREN’S HEALTH DEFENSE,

Plaintiff,

v.

FACEBOOK, INC., et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 20-cv-05787-SI

DECLARATION OF RITA
SHREFFLER

Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 1 of 40

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

RITA SHREFFLER DECLARATION RE:
MOTION TO FILE RULE 15(d) SUPPLEMENT
CHD v. Facebook et al.; Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-Si
2
DECLARATION OF RITA SHREFFLER
I, Rita Shreffler, declare as follows:
1.
I am the Director of Communications for Children’s Health Defense (“CHD”),
which is the plaintiff organization in this action, Children’s Health Defense v. Facebook, Inc.,
et al., 3:20-cv-05787-SI, currently pending in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California. This declaration is made in support of Plaintiff CHD’s Motion to File a
Rule 15(d) Supplement to the Second Amended Complaint. If called as a witness, I could and
would testify competently to the facts herein, except as to those matters stated on information
and belief.
2.
Attached hereto as Exhibit “1” is a true and correct copy of the Supplement to
Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint which CHD seeks leave to file in this case.
3.
Attached hereto as Exhibit “2” is a true and correct copy of Jennifer Jett, Robert
F. Kennedy Jr. is barred from Instagram over false coronavirus claims, THE NEW YORK
TIMES (Feb. 11, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/robert-f-kennedy-jr-
instagram-covid-vaccine.html.
4.
Attached hereto as Exhibit “3” is a true and correct copy of President Joseph R.
Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High
Consequence Public Health Threats (Jan. 21, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-ensuring-a-data-driven-response-to-
covid-19-and-future-high-consequence-public-health-threats/.
5.
Attached hereto as Exhibit “4” is a true and correct publicly-available transcript
of the February 19, 2021 White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
press briefing which include statements by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”). https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-
briefings/2021/02/19/ press-briefing-by-white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-
health-officials-5).
6.
Attached hereto as Exhibit “5” is a true and correct copy of Nandita Bose,
Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle anti-vaxxers, REUTERS
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 2 of 40

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

RITA SHREFFLER DECLARATION RE:
MOTION TO FILE RULE 15(d) SUPPLEMENT
CHD v. Facebook et al.; Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-Si
3
(Feb. 20, 2021), https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-white-house-exclusive-
idINKBN2AK0HP.
7.
Attached hereto as Exhibit “6” is, on information and belief, a true and correct
March 5, 2021 screenshot of a third party user’s Facebook page which shows a “warning label”
to, inter alia, “unfollow CHD” and “stop seeing posts from this group” by pushing an
accompanying icon. The user Michelle Ford received this warning in response to having
“liked” CHD posts, took a screenshot, and forwarded it to Mr. Kennedy which is how I gained
access to it.
 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing
is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and that this declaration was executed in
Nixa, Missouri, on March 8, 2021.
_______________________

RITA SHREFFLER

Communications Director
Children’s Health Defense
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 3 of 40

EXHIBIT 1
Supplemental Statement
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 4 of 40

1
Plaintiff’s Supplement to the

Second Amended Complaint
CHD v. Facebook et al.; Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-SI
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
ROGER I. TEICH
California State Bar No. 147076
290 Nevada Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Telephone:  (415) 948-0045
E-Mail Address:  rteich@juno.com

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.
MARY HOLLAND
Children’s Health Defense
1227 North Peachtree Parkway, Suite 202
Peachtree City, GA 30269
Telephone:  (917) 743-3868
E-Mail Address:  mary.holland@childrenshealthdefense.org

Attorneys for Plaintiff
CHILDREN’S HEALTH DEFENSE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
CHILDREN’S HEALTH DEFENSE,

Plaintiff,

v.

FACEBOOK, INC., et al.,

Defendants.
Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-SI

SUPPLEMENT TO PLAINTIFF’S
SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT

Exhibit 1
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 5 of 40

2
Plaintiff’s Supplement to the

Second Amended Complaint
CHD v. Facebook et al.; Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-SI
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
PLAINTIFF’S SUPPLEMENT TO THE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT

Plaintiff Children’s Health Defense (“CHD”), by and through its undersigned attorneys, hereby
supplements its Second Amendment Complaint (“SAC”) against Defendants Facebook, Inc., Mark
Zuckerberg, Science Feedback, Poynter Institute, Politifact, and Does 1-20, with the following
allegations made on personal information as to itself and on information and belief as to all other things.
1. On January 21, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order on Ensuring a Data-
Driven Response to COVID-19. (See https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-ensuring-a-data-driven-response-to-
covid-19-and-future-high-consequence-public-health-threats.)  The Executive Order directed
“the heads of all executive departments and agencies” to assist in an effort “to deter the
spread of misinformation and disinformation” related to COVID-19.  Id.
2. On February 10, 2021, Defendants Facebook and Zuckerberg terminated the Instagram
account of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which at that time had over 800,000 followers.
3. Mr. Kennedy is CHD’s founder and chairman, and Defendants were aware of that fact.
4. Instagram is owned by Facebook and is a Facebook product.
5. On or about February 11, 2021, Facebook issued a widely-circulated press statement
purporting to explain its cancelation of Mr. Kennedy’s Instagram account by falsely stating
that Mr. Kennedy has “repeatedly shared debunked claims about the coronavirus or
vaccines” on Facebook platforms. (Ex. 2.)
6. On or about February 19, Defendant Facebook admitted that it is working hand in hand with
the federal government to censor constitutionally protected vaccine-related speech.
7. On or about February 19, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed that “the company ha[d]
reached out to the White House to offer ‘any assistance we can provide’” to the federal
government’s effort to block what it describes as the “spread” of vaccine “misinformation”
online.  Nandita Bose, Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle
anti-vaxxers, REUTERS (Feb. 20, 2021), https://www.reuters.com/article/health-
coronavirus-white-house-exclusive-idINKBN2AK0HP.
8. At the same time, an unnamed source within the White House acknowledged the
Exhibit 1
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 6 of 40

3
Plaintiff’s Supplement to the

Second Amended Complaint
CHD v. Facebook et al.; Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-SI
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Administration’s “direct engagement” with social media companies including Facebook in
“clamping down” on speech concerning vaccines that the government seeks to suppress.  Id.
9. Both the White House and social media companies have thus acknowledged that federal
“officials are directly engaged with Silicon Valley in censoring social media users.”  Jesse
O’Neil, White House working with social media giants to silence anti-vaxxers, NEW YORK
POST (Feb. 19, 2021) (emphasis added).
10. As part of this joint, concerted action, the White House is “specifically pushing” Facebook,
Twitter, and Google to suppress or prevent from reaching wide audiences “chatter that
deviates from officially distributed COVID-19 information,” or both.  Id.
11. Also on February 19, 2021, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (“CDC”), publicly stated: “I want to be sure that you know the facts
and not the myths about . . . vaccine safety. The fact is they are safe and they will save lives.
And that is why we are committed to working with state and local public health partners, as
well as partners in the private sector, to support getting people vaccinated and quickly and as
safely as possible.” Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public
Health Officials (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/19/
press-briefing-by-white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-5)
(emphasis added.)
12. On or around the same date, it was also reported that the President’s chief of staff, Ron Klain,
had previously said “the administration will try to work with Silicon Valley on the issue” of
suppressing online speech expressing disfavored vaccine-related information.  Bose, supra.
13. On March 5, 2021, Facebook published a “warning label” on a third-party user’s Facebook
account which included the message: “Unfollow Children’s Health Defense.” (Ex. 6.)
14. The same warning label also implies that CHD is promulgating false and harmful
information on its Facebook page, encourages users to visit the World Health Organization’s
COVID pages for accurate information, and allows users to "stop seeing posts" from CHD by
clicking on an accompanying icon.  (Id.)

Exhibit 1
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 7 of 40

4
Plaintiff’s Supplement to the

Second Amended Complaint
CHD v. Facebook et al.; Case No. 3:20-cv-05787-SI
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Dated:  March 8, 2021

Respectfully submitted,

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.
Founder and Chairman, Children’s Health Defense

MARY S. HOLLAND
General Counsel, Children’s Health Defense

ROGER I. TEICH

Counsel for Plaintiff
Children’s Health Defense

Exhibit 1
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 8 of 40

EXHIBIT 2
President Biden Jan. 21, 2021 Executive Order
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 9 of 40

3/8/2021
Executive Order on Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats | The White Ho…
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-ensuring-a-data-driven-response-to-covid-19-and-future-hig…
1/3
BRIEFING ROOM
Executive Order on Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to
COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health
Threats
JANUARY 21, 2021  •  PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1.  Policy.  It is the policy of my Administration to respond to the coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) pandemic through effective approaches guided by the best available science
and data, including by building back a better public health infrastructure.  This stronger public
health infrastructure must help the Nation effectively prevent, detect, and respond to future
biological threats, both domestically and internationally.
Consistent with this policy, the heads of all executive departments and agencies (agencies)
shall facilitate the gathering, sharing, and publication of COVID-19-related data,
in coordination with the Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the
President (COVID-19 Response Coordinator), to the extent permitted by law, and with
appropriate protections for confidentiality, privacy, law enforcement, and national security.
These efforts shall assist Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities in developing
and implementing policies to facilitate informed community decision-making, to further
public understanding of the pandemic and the response, and to deter the spread of
misinformation and disinformation.
Sec. 2.  Enhancing Data Collection and Collaboration Capabilities for High-Consequence
Public Health Threats, Such as the COVID-19 Pandemic.  (a)  The Secretary of Defense, the
Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services (HHS), the Secretary of Education, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the Director of the National Science
Foundation shall each promptly designate a senior official to serve as their agency’s lead to
work on COVID-19- and pandemic-related data issues.  This official, in consultation with the
Exhibit 2
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 10 of 40

3/8/2021
Executive Order on Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats | The White Ho…
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-ensuring-a-data-driven-response-to-covid-19-and-future-hig…
2/3
COVID-19 Response Coordinator, shall take steps to make data relevant to high-consequence
public health threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, publicly available and accessible.
(b)  The COVID-19 Response Coordinator shall, as necessary, convene appropriate
representatives from relevant agencies to coordinate the agencies’ collection, provision, and
analysis of data, including key equity indicators, regarding the COVID-19 response, as well as
their sharing of such data with State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities.
(c)  The Director of OMB, in consultation with the Director of OSTP, the United States Chief
Technology Officer, and the COVID-19 Response Coordinator, shall promptly review the
Federal Government’s existing approaches to open data, and shall issue supplemental
guidance, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, concerning how to de-identify
COVID-19-related data; how to make data open to the public in human- and machine-readable
formats as rapidly as possible; and any other topic the Director of OMB concludes would
appropriately advance the policy of this order.  Any guidance shall include appropriate
protections for the information described in section 5 of this order.
(d)  The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Director of
OMB, shall promptly:
(i)   review the ability of agencies to hire personnel expeditiously into roles related to
information technology and the collection, provision, analysis, or other use of data to address
high-consequence public health threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; and
(ii)  take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to support agencies in such
efforts.
Sec. 3.  Public Health Data Systems.  The Secretary of HHS, in consultation with the COVID-
19 Response Coordinator and the heads of relevant agencies, shall promptly:
(a)  review the effectiveness, interoperability, and connectivity of public health data systems
supporting the detection of and response to high-consequence public health threats, such as
the COVID-19 pandemic;
(b)  review the collection of morbidity and mortality data by State, local, Tribal, and territorial
governments during high-consequence public health threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic;
and
(c)  issue a report summarizing the findings of the reviews detailed in subsections (a) and (b)
of this section and any recommendations for addressing areas for improvement identified in
the reviews.
Exhibit 2
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 11 of 40

3/8/2021
Executive Order on Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats | The White Ho…
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-ensuring-a-data-driven-response-to-covid-19-and-future-hig…
3/3
Sec. 4.  Advancing Innovation in Public Health Data and Analytics.  The Director of OSTP, in
coordination with the National Science and Technology Council, as appropriate, shall develop
a plan for advancing innovation in public health data and analytics in the United States.
Sec. 5.  Privileged Information.  Nothing in this order shall compel or authorize the
disclosure of privileged information, law-enforcement information, national-security
information, personal information, or information the disclosure of which is prohibited by law.
Sec. 6.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or
otherwise affect:
(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to
budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 21, 2021.
Exhibit 2
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 12 of 40

EXHIBIT 3
New York Times Feb. 11, 2021 Article with
Facebook’s Statement on taking down
Robert F. Kennedy's Instagram account
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 13 of 40

3/8/2021
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is barred from Instagram over false coronavirus claims. - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/robert-f-kennedy-jr-instagram-covid-vaccine.html
1/1
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is barred from Instagram over false coronavirus
claims.
By Jennifer Jett
Feb. 11, 2021
Instagram took down the account of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political scion and prominent anti-vaccine
activist, on Wednesday over false information related to the coronavirus.
“We removed this account for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines,”
Facebook, which owns Instagram, said in a statement.
Mr. Kennedy, the son of the former senator and U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, worked for decades
as an environmental lawyer but is now better known as an anti-vaccine crusader. A 2019 study found that two
groups including his nonprofit, now called Children’s Health Defense, had funded more than half of Facebook
advertisements spreading misinformation about vaccines.
He has found an even broader audience during the pandemic on platforms like Instagram, where he had
800,000 followers. Though Mr. Kennedy has said he is not opposed to vaccines as long as they are safe, he
regularly endorses discredited links between vaccines and autism and has argued that it is safer to contract
the coronavirus than to be inoculated against it.
Facebook is becoming more aggressive in its efforts to stamp out vaccine misinformation, saying this week
that it would remove posts with erroneous claims about the coronavirus, coronavirus vaccines and vaccines in
general, whether they are paid advertisements or user-generated posts. In addition to Mr. Kennedy’s
Instagram account, the company said it had removed multiple other Instagram accounts and Facebook pages
on Wednesday under its updated policies.
They did not include Mr. Kennedy’s Facebook page, which was still active as of early Thursday and makes
many of the same baseless claims to more than 300,000 followers. The company said it did not automatically
disable accounts across its platforms and that there were no plans to take down Mr. Kennedy’s Facebook
account “at this time.”
Children’s Health Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Members of Mr. Kennedy’s family have spoken out against his anti-vaccine efforts, including a brother, sister
and niece who accused him of spreading “dangerous misinformation” in a column they wrote for Politico in
2019. Another niece, Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, a doctor at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell
Medical Center, wrote an opinion essay in The New York Times in December challenging his claims.
“I love my uncle Bobby,” she wrote. “I admire him for many reasons, chief among them his decades-long fight
for a cleaner environment. But when it comes to vaccines, he is wrong.”
Exhibit 3
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 14 of 40

EXHIBIT 4
CDC Walensky Feb. 19, 2021 Press Briefing
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 15 of 40

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/19/press-briefing-by-white-
house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-5/
Press Briefing by White House
COVID-19 Response Team and
Public Health Officials
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 • PRESS BRIEFINGS
Via Teleconference
11:48 A.M. EST
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Good morning.  Thank you for joining our COVID-
19 Response briefing.  First, I want to start by saying that our hearts go out to the people in
Texas, Louisiana, and across the country who have been impacted by the severe weather this
week.
Now, I want to give an update on how severe weather across the country has impacted vaccine
deliveries and administration, and how we intend to catch up.  As of now, we have a backlog of
about 6 million doses due to the weather.  All 50 states have been impacted.  The 6 million doses
represents about three days of delayed shipping, and many states have been able to cover some
of this delay with existing inventory.
So let me first walk you through the situation and then tell you how we, as an entire nation, will
have to pull together to get back on track.  There are three places along the distribution chain that
have been impacted by the weather.  First, FedEx, UPS, and McKesson — our logistics and
distribution teams — have all faced challenges as workers have been snowed in and unable to get
to work to package and ship the vaccines, kits, and the required diluent.
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 16 of 40

Second, road closures have held up delivery of vaccines at different points in the distribution
process, between manufacturing sites to distribution, and to shipping hubs.
Third, more than 2,000 vaccine sites are located in areas with power outages, so they’re currently
unable to receive doses.  General Perna’s guidance to the team was to ensure safety of personnel,
preservation of the vaccines and supplies, and constant communication with the states.  Because
of 72-hour cold chain constraints, we don’t want to ship doses to those locations and have them
sitting at a site where they might expire.  So the vaccines are sitting safe and sound in our
factories and hubs, ready to be shipped out as soon as the weather allows.
Now, as weather conditions improve, we’re already working to clear this backlog.  1.4 million
doses are already in transit today, and we anticipate that all the backlog doses will be delivered
within the next week, with most being delivered within the next several days.  And we expect we
will be able to manage both this backlog and the new production coming online next week.
With everybody’s hard work and collective effort, we will be able to catch up, but we understand
this will mean asking more of people.  UPS and FedEx both will support Saturday deliveries
tomorrow.  We are working with the jurisdictions to see which ones are able to take Saturday
deliveries.  The packaging plant for Moderna vaccines is just now coming online.  Roads are
being cleared for the workforce to leave their homes.  They’re working today through Sunday to
package the backlogged orders, and will put the vaccines and ancillary supplies on aircraft on
Sunday night for Monday-through-Wednesday delivery.
As we get back on track, we’re asking states, sites, and ventilate — and vaccinators to help us
catch up and to get Americans vaccinated.  We know many Americans are awaiting their second
dose, and many more, their first dose.  We’re asking vaccine administration sites to extend their
hours even further and offer additional appointments, and to try to reschedule the vaccinations
over the coming days and weeks as significantly more supply arrives.  States and vaccination
sites are going to want to be prepared for the additional volume.
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 17 of 40

Whatever reduction we see in our seven-day average this week in vaccinations from the weather,
if we all work together — from the factory, all the way to the vaccinators — we will make up for
it in the coming week.
I want to personally thank the men and women who have continued to keep our operations up
and running throughout this storm and have been working 24 by 7 with the states, and with local
vaccination sites.  And my thoughts remain with all of those impacted.
I’ll be happy to answer any questions about this topic.
But before we turn it over to Dr. Walensky and Dr. Fauci, I do want to briefly touch on our work
to stand up more federally run sites.  Even as we manage the weather, on the one hand, we are
pushing ahead with plans to get more vaccines to more places to get more Americans vaccinated.
Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ll be opening five additional vaccination centers: one in
Pennsylvania and four in Florida.  In Florida, we will stand up four major new community
vaccination centers, in partnerships with the state, in Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, and Tampa.
These sites will have the capacity to vaccinate a total of 12,000 individuals per day in total.
In Pennsylvania, we’re announcing a major new community vaccination center at the
Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.  This site will have the capacity to deliver
6,000 doses per day.
Selection of all of these sites is based on a CDC-FEMA framework that has been developed to
target vaccinations to those who are most vulnerable.  The goal is to launch vaccination sites that
use processes and are in locations that promote equity and deploy the CDC’s Social
Vulnerability Index.
The federal government will be deploying teams immediately to work hand in hand with state
and local jurisdictions to get these sites set up, and we expect both — we expect them all to be
up and running in the next two weeks.
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 18 of 40

So that’s a brief status from the White House COVID Response Team here.  We’ll have more
announcements to come next week.
Now, with that, I will turn it over to Dr. Walensky to overview a state of the pandemic and
public health.
Dr. Walensky.
DR. WALENSKY:  Thank you so much.  I’m delighted to be back with you today.
I have new information to share from CDC regarding ongoing safety monitoring of the COVID-
19 vaccines.  But before I go into those findings, I want to provide a brief overview of the latest
data on the pandemic.
We continue to see a five-week decline in COVID cases, with cases decreasing 69 percent in the
seven-day average since hitting a peak on January 11th.  The current seven-day average of
approximately 77,000 cases is the lowest recorded since the end of October but still higher than
the height of last summer’s peak.
Like new COVID-19 cases, the number of new hospital admissions continues to drop.  The
seven-day average of new admissions on February 16th, approximately 7,200, represents a 56
percent decline since the January 9th peak.
As I reported on Wednesday, the number of deaths continues to fluctuate.  The latest data
indicate that deaths have declined modestly in the past week to an average of approximately
2,700 per day.  These numbers are a stark reminder of the thousands of lives lost to this
pandemic.
Another reminder of the devastating impact of the pandemic has had on our country was brought
into clear view yesterday in a report released by the CDC on the provisional life expectancy in
the first half of 2020.  The report found that life expectancy was at its lowest level in 15 years,
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 19 of 40

dropping by a full year compared to the life expectancy in 2019.  This represents a substantial
decline in life expectancy in our nation.
Importantly, like the populations most heavily affected by this pandemic, the declines in life
expectancy were again most pronounced in certain racial and ethnic minority groups.  The
largest declines in life expectancy occurred in non-Hispanic black persons, dropping 2.7 years —
levels not seen since 2001.  And Hispanic persons had lost the second largest life expectancy,
dropping 1.9 years.
These findings, though not surprising, are sobering and representative of the continued need to
take this pandemic, and actions to stop the spread of COVID-19, seriously.
Now more than ever, with continued spread of variants that stand to threaten the progress we are
making, we must recommit to doing our part to protect one another: wear a well-fitting mask,
social distant, avoid travel and crowds, practice good hand hygiene, and get vaccinated when the
vaccine is available to you.
I also want to spend a moment talking about vaccine safety.  To date, more than 41 million
people in the United States have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but we
continue to hear that people might be reluctant to roll up their sleeve because they are worried
about adverse effects.
I will reiterate: The CDC is committed to monitoring vaccine safety and frequently reporting on
what we know.  Today, CDC is releasing a study in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
that describes findings from our COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring in the United States from
December 14th through January 13th, 2021.
During the first month of vaccinations, approximately 1.6 million people enrolled in V-safe,
CDC’s new phone-based COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring system.  Among those enrolled,
71 percent reported pain where the shot was given, 34 percent reported fatigue, and 30 percent
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 20 of 40

reported a headache.  These are common with most vaccines, and they typically resolve within a
day or two of vaccination.
It’s important to know that about half the people don’t feel very well after getting their second
dose.  This should not deter you from getting your second dose, but you need to have a light day
of activity after getting vaccinated.
There were also rare reports of severe allergic reactions like anaphylaxis, a serious but treatable
reaction.  In fact, there were 4.5 cases of anaphylaxis per 1 million doses given during this time
— a rate similar to what we’ve seen in other commonly used vaccines.
In the first month of experience, a total of 113 deaths were reported of which approximately 65
percent were among long-term care facility residents.  A thorough review of the available data
indicated that these deaths were not related to the COVID-19 vaccine.  And the death rate in this
population, though truly sad and unfortunate, was consistent with the expected background death
rate in this demographic.
I want to emphasize that we’ve implemented the most comprehensive vaccine safety monitoring
system program in our history, and the data released from the CDC today are reflective of this
effort.  We will continue to closely monitor these events and report back as further data emerge.
I want to be sure that you know the facts and not the myths about the vaccine safety — about
vaccine safety.  The fact is they are safe and they will save lives.  And that is why we are
committed to working with state and local public health partners, as well as partners in the
private sector, to support getting people vaccinated and quickly and as safely as possible.
To help advance our collective efforts to scale up vaccines in communities, on Monday, CDC is
convening a three-day virtual National Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine.  The forum will bring
together a broad range of governmental and non-governmental partners to share information and
best practices on how to build trust and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines; how to use data to
optimize vaccine implementation; and how to provide practical, real-world experience on how to
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 21 of 40

increase vaccination capacity in communities, especially for those at increased risk of COVID-
19 and for those who may face barriers to vaccination.
I’m excited about this forum and the rich dialogue it will stimulate.  And I invite those who are
involved in vaccine efforts to register and attend this important meeting.  Thank you.  As always,
I look forward to your questions.  But before that, I’ll turn it over to Dr. Fauci.
Dr. Fauci.
DR. FAUCI:  Thank you very much, Dr. Walensky.  What I’d like to do is to just take a couple
of minutes, very briefly, reviewing the status of the vaccines and vaccine trials that we have, but
then to, as I’ve done in the past, pick out a question that I believe is being asked more frequently
to try and preemptively address it and perhaps generate some discussion.
With regard to the trials that we have: As you know, the U.S. government had been involved in
the development of and/or facilitation of the testing of three separate platforms represented by
six different companies.  You’re all aware of the data of the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech,
which have their EUA now, having shown a 94 to 95 percent efficacy.
Right now, as we speak, the data from the Johnson study — which, as you know, showed a 72
percent efficacy in the United States, but was also done in South Africa and Latin America and
showed a diminished efficacy against the variant, but very good against severe disease — that is
being reviewed at the FDA for the U.S. data.  And on February the 26th, the FDA will consult
with their independent Advisory Committee, their VRBPAC, and we should be hearing from
them soon.
With regard to the AstraZeneca and the Novavax, those trials are both fully enrolled.  These are
event-driven decisions, so when they reach a certain amount of events, they will then look at the
data and make decisions as to whether or not to go ahead with a request for an EUA.
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 22 of 40

So, having said that, let me just now, very briefly, address a question that is a very relevant
question that we are now more commonly being asked: If you look at the existing trials — those
that have already gotten an EUA, and those that we anticipate and hope will get and EUA —
when will we be able to say we can vaccinate children — children in the high school range and
children in the elementary school range?
You know from Pfizer that they started off with the trial of 44,000 individuals, down to 16-year-
olds and then progressed it down to 12-year-olds.  So what they’re going to be doing in April —
starting in April, they are going to be studying 12-year-olds down to five- to six-year-old.  That
will take likely one year to get the information on that — likely not until the first quarter.
However, we anticipate data on high-school-age individuals, namely individuals 12 years old to
17 years old, by the beginning of the fall.  Maybe not exactly coinciding with the first day of
school, but sometime in the fall, we will have that.  Moderna, as you know, started off with
already 18-year-old.  They are now currently enrolling 12- to 17-year-olds.
So let me take a moment to explain the process of how you get relevant information regarding
these younger individuals.  This is a representative trial, which very likely will reflect other
trials.  It’s a 3,000-person trial.  So, right off, you’re not dealing with the 30,000- and 44,000-
person trial that gave the efficacy signal in the original Moderna and Pfizer study.
What the trial is, is the trial is what’s called a “non-inferiority by immunogenicity,” which is a
lot of big words to really mean what they’re asking: Is it safe in the children, and does it induce
an immune response that’s comparable or not inferior to the immune response that we know is
associated with efficacy in the other trials?  And that’s the way that trial will go.
And then, we’re starting, by the end of March, they will do what’s called an “age de-escalation
study.”  We’re already enrolling on the 12 to 17.  They will go to the 6 to 12, then 2 to 6, then 6
months to 2 years.  Again, we will likely get information for high schoolers at some time in the
fall, but it is, I would say, more than unlikely we will not have data on elementary school
children until at least the first quarter of 2022.
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 23 of 40

Similar types of approaches are being taken by the other candidates, the other companies, namely
J&J, Novavax, and AZ.
So, the bottom line of all of this is as follows: It is highly likely that sometime in the fall, we will
have data that will give us the capability of saying the safety and comparable efficacy in children
12 to 17, 18 years old.  Again, the final decisions we always leave to the FDA.  I’m trying to
give you a roadmap of what likely will happen.  But then also, with the studies that I just
mentioned, to getting the information to make the decision in elementary school children almost
certainly will not be firmed down until the first quarter of 2022.
I will stop there and hand it back to Andy.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Thank you, Dr. Fauci.
Okay, we can take some questions.
MODERATOR:  All right.  First up, we will have Jonathan Cohn, Huffington Post.
Q    Thanks for taking the question.  I have a question about the federal mass vaccination sites
and how you’re deciding where to do them and setting them up.  How much of this is states
coming to you and saying, “Okay, you know, we need help with this place or that place.  Can
you come in and set up a FEMA site?”  How much is this you going to the states and saying,
“Hey, it looks like you need some help here, or we see that, you know, the progress — you
know, you’re not hitting enough of the underserved communities, so we think you — we want to
do a site here”?
And, in general, has there been a, kind of, overall 50-state assessment of how the states are doing
at distribution and where they need help?  Have you done something like that — some kind of
comprehensive look?
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 24 of 40

ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Yeah, thanks, Jonathan.  And I may ask Dr.
Walensky to come in, in a second, on how the CDC thinks about the Social Vulnerability Index
in places where we’d like to target.
What I would reflect for you, Jonathan, is we have a very healthy ongoing dialogue with multiple
participants in a state every week, and there is a good give and take.
We are obviously looking for two things as we select these sites.  The first is, how can we get
more people vaccinated more quickly.  And the second is, how can we get more people
vaccinated more equitably.  Those are the — those are really the two most important criteria.
And so having these conversations, these dialogues go back and forth, we — you know, to —
you know, as an illustration, we may have a governor who says, “We’re very interested in this.”
And then, when we work with the CDC and with FEMA, we may say, “If we do something in
this state, this is the location that we think works best and makes sense.”  And then we’ll have a
back and forth.  So, it’s very collaborative.  It’s very positive.
Dr. Walensky, anything you want to add more specifically?
DR. WALENSKY:  I don’t have a whole lot to add to that, except to say that, really, it is a
collaborative.  We are doing outreach and we are actually receiving — we’re trying to
incorporate what states’ specific needs are.  We do look specifically at the Social Vulnerability
Index of where these sites might go, also the population size so we can understand exactly what
the needs are in those specific sites.
So, it’s a deep collaboration, and it looks both at Social Vulnerability Index, the outreach that’s
needed, whether there’s, you know, the size, as well as what mobile units might be needed as
well.
ACTING ADMINISTRATION SLAVITT:  Yeah, Jonathan, federal-state partnership to us is the
key and is the approach.  And we view ourselves, hopefully, as good partners to the states.  And
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 25 of 40

if they — if they bring us challenges, our goal is to help them solve them, not to reward or
punish, as I think has been a prior philosophy.
Let’s go to the next question.
MODERATOR:  Next, we’ll go to Cheyenne Haslett at ABC News.
Q    Hi, thanks for doing this.  Thanks.  On school openings, my question is about 75 percent of
schools that are currently located in the red zones, which the CDC guidelines recommend be
hybrid or virtual.  So, I’m wondering how, in April, just about two months from now, the
President intends to make good on that promise of full-time in-person schooling.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Well, thanks for that question.  And I think that that
question actually allows us to clarify a few things, and I want to turn to Dr. Walensky to do that.
DR. WALENSKY:  Yeah, thank you for that question.  The first thing I just want to convey is
there are opportunities for in-person learning at all stages — all states of community spread.
As we’ve seen community spread coming down and as we’ve seen our numbers improving right
now, what I would invite the schools to do — we have actually seen many more communities
leave the red zone and move into the orange zone, which actually has more opportunities for in-
school opening and for in-person learning.  So, our numbers are coming down, and I would
actually invite schools to lean in and to look at what is needed so that — in the roadmap, to try
and get more and more children back to school.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  And I want to just clarify something you said
because it’s so important, Dr. Walensky.  Is it possible, if you are in the red zone, even if things
are improving, is it possible to open schools under the CDC’s guidance?
DR. WALENSKY:  Absolutely.  So, in the areas that remain red — and there are about two
thirds of districts now, although the numbers continue to climb — in the numbers that remain
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 26 of 40

red, we say, with universal masking and physical distancing and de-densification of classrooms,
there are opportunities for in-person learning, as well as for middle and high school learning, and
assuming you’re able to do the de-densification that we suggest.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Great.  And I think that’s a really important
clarification.
Next question, please.
MODERATOR:  Next, we’ll go to Brenda Goodman at WebMD.
Q    Hi.  I have a question about dosing.  There have been several studies published in the last
couple of days — the dosing of the vaccines, that is — that have suggested that just a single dose
of the vaccine might be highly effective after about three — two or three weeks.  And I
wondered if that had shifted, Dr. Fauci — if it had convinced you that just a single dose of the
mRNA vaccines might end up being effective.
DR. FAUCI:  Well, if you’re referring to the mRNA vaccine, you’re probably referring to a
recent Israeli study that looked at the mRNA, because the extension of the time in a single dose
with AZ has also been discussed.  But let me refer and just answer directly your question with
the mRNA.
We always look at data very carefully and very seriously, and we evaluate it as it evolves.  But if
you look at the data from the particular study, and then go back and look at why we wound up
with a prime and a boost — and for Moderna, as you know, that’s 28 days, and for Pfizer, it’s 21
days.  And the reason is, even though you can get a fair degree of, quote, “protection” after a
single dose, it clearly is not durable.  We know that.  The durability is not as much as the
durability that you would get with the boost.
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 27 of 40

Secondly, if you look at the difference between the degree — the intensity of the response after a
first dose and compare it to that of the second dose, the second dose is 10 times higher in the
sense of level of neutralizing antibodies, which is one of the parameters of immunity.
So, again, although the numbers of a single dose do look interesting, the one thing we don’t
know is how durable it is. And since it’s 10 times less than the optimal dose that you would get,
you have to look at it from two standpoints.  You remember we discussed, on one of these press
briefings before, that the reason why you look clinically and see that, despite the fact that there is
a maybe five- to six-fold diminution in the impact of the antibodies that are induced by the
mRNA candidates, it still is within the range of protection.
The reason for that is that the response following the boost was so high that even though you
diminished the efficacy down to about 50 percent, you still had rather good efficacy against
severe disease.  So it’s a variant issue to protect against variant.
The other issue that we need to take into consideration is if you do have a less than optimal —
even though with numbers they look reasonably good — but not as good as the optimal response,
what could happen theoretically is that because of the immunological pressure that you see on
the virus, you might actually, theoretically, be inducing more variants.  So there are a few
scientific reasons why we feel, given the information we have right now, we will stick with the
scientifically documented efficacy and optimal response of a prime, followed by a boost, with
the mRNA.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Dr. Fauci, just a couple of additional clarifications.
You said something here which is important for, I think, the public to understand.  If we do see
more of the variant present in this country, do you feel better with people having two doses of
these mRNA vaccine or one?
DR. FAUCI:  Oh, there’s no doubt, Andy.  Thank you for the question.  I alluded to it, but thank
you for giving me the opportunity to repeat it.  There’s no doubt about that, that you have an
optimal response.  When you’re dealing with variants, you want enough of a height of a response
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 28 of 40

that even if you diminish it, you don’t diminish it so much to get out of the realm of protection,
number one.
Number two, if you do have a less-than-optimum response, you could theoretically and
inadvertently be selecting immunologically for variants.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Thank you.  So just a couple of things to emphasize
here.  One is, we want the public not to be confused: The recommendation from the FDA is two
doses, just as it always has been.
Number two — and I think this is a, sort of, more macro point, and I invite either Dr. Fauci or
Dr. Walensky to comment here — there are studies all the time.  There are preprints all the time.
There are — real-world evidence comes out all the time.  And it will continue to happen.
The people at the FDA, led by Peter Marks, people like Dr. Fauci, people like Dr. Walensky,
love looking at this data, love looking at these studies.  But it’s also important to understand that
— that one study, even though it may look attractive, if it’s in the public domain and may
capture a headline, isn’t always what it appears to be and it is only one study.  So I think we’ve
got the best people in the world looking at this.  I feel very confident.  And they’ll look
aggressively at these studies.  But I think it’s important that people understand that we’re not
going to be persuaded by one study that happens to grab headlines.  We, here at the White
House, will, of course, listen to whatever the scientists have to say and adjust accordingly.
But any — anything you would want to add to that, Doctors Walensky or Fauci?
DR. FAUCI:  Yeah, Andy, you know, thank you for bringing that up.  And with regard to the
specific study — and again, I’m not criticizing this study, because it’s an interesting study and
we really do want to follow up on this.  But in — again, this is a study that we were made aware
of by press release, so it wasn’t something that we had the opportunity to look at all the data yet.
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 29 of 40

But it’s very interesting that it says here at the end: “The results might differ from others…” —
getting to the point that Andy made: there are many studies — “The results might differ from
others because the subjects were largely younger and healthier,” said one of the authors.
She also said, “The study couldn’t confirm how long the protection from one shot would last as
most of the subjects received a second shot.”  So the points that I made in my explanation to the
person who questioned is actually admitted to by one of the authors.
Thank you.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Thank you.  Next question, please.
MODERATOR:  All right, we have time for one more question.  Last, we’ll go to Yamiche
Alcindor of PBS.
Q    Hi, thanks so much for taking my question.  I have two questions.  The first is: A lack of
pharmacies and hospitals, providers, and transportation has emerged as a significant concern in
the communities hardest hit by the virus.  What’s the plan and the timeline for getting more
vaccination sites for areas with inadequate health infrastructure?  Have you — and has the
government found that that’s a problem — an increasing problem when looking at vaccine
distribution?
And the second question I have is on life expectancy.  I’m wondering how lasting this change in
life expectancy is.  Do we expect it to bounce back?  Will it go to — or — and what will it take,
if at all, for it to go back up?
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Well, let me take the first question.  And, Dr.
Walensky, you can get us the second question on life expectancy.
There are a number of issues that you point out that are access barriers, including transportation,
including the clinical infrastructure, and then, including — I think it’s important to point out —
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 30 of 40

that even when there is a local availability of vaccines, people from outside of these communities
— outside of the hard-hit communities — come in, make appointments, and often take some of
those doses, which, you know, we shouldn’t be surprised about — it happens in a shortage — but
we have to act on it because we are purposely setting up both sites that are located conveniently
in these communities.
There will be a series of announcements over the next — call it, a week to 10 days — about
some major things that we’re doing about transportation, about appointment reservations, and
ensuring that that those appointments are kept.  Certainly, bringing mobile vans into the
communities, bringing Federally Qualified Health Centers, which are ideally located into
communities.  And then — and then assuring that we have all of the things that end up becoming
barriers, which are the hours people are open, the ability to get there and back, and some of the
other things that are getting in the way.
So I can tell you that we are working these in detail, along with the states, along with local
communities.  They are — I think it’s safe to say that if you don’t do the things, you naturally
end up with the people who are getting hit hardest by the virus also getting the least access to the
vaccine.
There are some success stories.  I think it’s too early to report that we have figured this out.  I
think it’s a constant battle, to be honest.
Dr. Walensky, anything you want to either add to that?  And, of course, the life expectancy
question.
DR. WALENSKY:  Great.  Maybe I’ll just move to the life expectancy question.  I agree with
you entirely, Andy.
You know, the report from CDC really only reported the life expectancy loss from January to
June, the first half of 2020.  Quite unfortunately, I think we’re going to see, again, a decrease in
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 31 of 40

life expectancy once we start looking at the entire year, because we do know that the hardest-hit
demographic and highest mortality rates have been in the older populations.
I think we’re going to have a lot of work to do in this country over the years ahead to try and
make up the losses that we’ve seen with this pandemic.  And that is going to be including an
investment in our public health infrastructure and improving the health of the entire nation, and
especially in improving the health of the ethnic and racial minorities that took the hardest hit.
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT:  Thank you, Dr. Walensky.  I want to finish where we
started, which is to thank everybody who is going to be working over this weekend to catch up
from the weather-related events; to thank our partners in states and local vaccinators for
extending their hours and increasing the access to folks to get their vaccines; and to assure
people that if their vaccine, because of the weather, has been — their second shot has been
delayed for a short period of time, it is not a problem; that will be accommodated completely.
Thank you all, and I hope everybody has a nice weekend.
12:26 P.M. EST
Next Post: Remarks by President Biden at the 2021 Virtual Munich Security
ConferenceRemarks by President Biden at the 2021
Virtual Munich Security Conference
FEBRUARY 19, 2021•SPEECHES AND REMARKS
Next Post
Stay Connected
EMAIL ADDRESS*
ZIP CODE
Share

Share this page on Facebook

Share this page on Twitter
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 32 of 40


https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/19/press-briefing-by-
white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-5/
Home
The Administration
Executive Offices
Priorities
Exhibit 4
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 33 of 40

EXHIBIT 5
Nandita Bose, Exclusive: White House working
with Facebook and Twitter to tackle
anti-vaxxers, REUTERS (Feb. 20, 2021)
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 34 of 40

3/8/2021
Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle anti-vaxxers | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-white-house-exclusive-idINKBN2AK0HP
1/4
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
FEBRUARY 20, 20217:04 AMUPDATED 16 DAYS AGO
Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to
tackle anti-vaxxers
By Nandita Bose
(In Feb. 19 story, corrects name of group in paragraph 11 to Center for Countering Digital Hate
instead of Center for Countering Digital Health)
FILE PHOTO: Vehicles line up at at Dodger Stadium COVID-19 vaccination site at sunset during the outbreak of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 1, 2021. REUTERS/Mario
Anzuoni/File Photo
Exhibit 5
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 35 of 40

3/8/2021
Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle anti-vaxxers | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-white-house-exclusive-idINKBN2AK0HP
2/4
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has been reaching out to social media companies
including Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc’s Google about clamping down on COVID
misinformation and getting their help to stop it from going viral, a senior administration official said.
President Joe Biden, who has raced to curb the pandemic since taking office, has made inoculating
Americans one of his top priorities and called the move “a wartime effort.” But tackling public fear
about taking the vaccine has emerged as a major impediment for the administration.
Since the onset of the pandemic, calls from lawmakers asking the companies to tackle the spread of
COVID misinformation on their platforms have grown.
The White House’s direct engagement with the companies to mitigate the challenge has not been
previously reported. Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain has previously said the administration will try
to work with Silicon Valley on the issue.
“Disinformation that causes vaccine hesitancy is going to be a huge obstacle to getting everyone
vaccinated and there are no larger players in that than the social media platforms,” said the source,
who has direct knowledge of the White House’s efforts.
A D V E RT I S E M E N T
“We are talking to them ... so they understand the importance of misinformation and disinformation
and how they can get rid of it quickly.”
The Biden White House is especially trying to make sure such material “does not start trending on
such platforms and become a broader movement,” the source said.
The source cited the example of the anti-vaccine protests at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in early
February, and said the White House wants to stop events like that from happening again.
The protest, organized on Facebook through a page that promotes debunked claims about the
coronavirus pandemic, masks and immunization, briefly blocked public access to the stadium - one
of the largest vaccination sites in the country, where health authorities are administering more than
8,000 vaccines a day.
Exhibit 5
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 36 of 40

3/8/2021
Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle anti-vaxxers | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-white-house-exclusive-idINKBN2AK0HP
3/4
Slideshow ( 2 images )
The event illustrated the extent to which social media platforms have become a critical organizing
tool for movements such as the anti-vaccine drive, that spread misinformation and disinformation.
A growing number of anti-vaccine activists, emboldened by their rising social media following, have
helped the movement gain strength in the United States. A report by the Center for Countering
Digital Hate in July 2020 found social media accounts held by anti-vaxxers have increased their
following by at least 7·8 million people since 2019.
The companies have repeatedly vowed to get rid of such material on their platforms but gaps remain
in their enforcement efforts.
On Thursday, Senator Richard Blumenthal criticized the platforms in a tweet for carrying ads that he
said funds and promotes “dangerous conspiracy theories, COVID-19 disinformation and malign
foreign propaganda.”
Exhibit 5
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 37 of 40

3/8/2021
Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle anti-vaxxers | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-white-house-exclusive-idINKBN2AK0HP
4/4
A Facebook spokeswoman said that the company has reached out to the White House to offer “any
assistance we can provide” and has recently announced a new policy to remove COVID and vaccine
misinformation along with pages, groups, and accounts that repeatedly spread such material.
A Twitter spokesman said the company is “in regular communication with the White House on a
number of critical issues including COVID-19 misinformation.”
A D V E RT I S E M E N T
Alphabet Inc’s Google did not comment on engagement with the White House, instead pointing to a
company blog on and how it stops misinformation.
The source said the companies “were receptive” as they engaged with the White House. “But it is too
soon to say whether or not it translates into lessening the spread of misinformation.”
There will be more details on how the White House is engaging with the social media companies on
this issue in the “next ten days or so”, the source added.
Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington, Editing by Chris Sanders and Nick Zieminski
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Exhibit 5
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 38 of 40

EXHIBIT 6
Facebook March 5, 2021 screenshot with
warning label to "unfollow CHD"
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 39 of 40

Exhibit 6
Case 3:20-cv-05787-SI   Document 76-1   Filed 03/08/21   Page 40 of 40

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.cand.364478.76.1.pdf

Size

2,722,441 bytes

SHA-256

1f3b39b738daf673b2200d7bc475f7b9ae082845d1d9cc258893ede583ce0232

Our copy

gov.uscourts.cand.364478.76.1.pdf

Original

archive.org