MATTHEWS: Democrats, media have done complete 180s on COVID vaccine, and there’s one big reason why

A healthcare worker is pictured holding the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in this undated file photo. (Photo courtesy Duke Health)

As the first truckloads of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine were rolled out last week, Democrats and the mainstream media rushed to tout it and give play-by-plays of the vaccine being given to frontline healthcare workers.

Reports were filed on how many were being shipped, to where they were being shipped and who would be the first to receive them.

Democratic politicians eagerly posted videos showing nurses administering the vaccine to them. They said they did so mainly to prove the vaccine was safe and to combat skepticism.

Considering how it was Democrats — and the media — who told the American people prior to the election to be skeptical of a vaccine because it was allegedly being “rushed through” by President Trump without safety checks, watching them do post-election flip-flops has been a bit much.

Their push to undermine America’s confidence in the vaccine went on for the entirety of the pandemic, including reports starting in the spring about how there was no way a vaccine would be available before the end of the year and how if it was then it might not be safe to take it.

After Joe Biden selected Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential nominee in August, the campaign to get people not to trust a vaccine produced during the Trump administration kicked into an even higher gear.

When Harris was asked in early September if she’d get the vaccine if it were made available before year-end, she said: “I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump, and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he’s talking about.”

It was an incredibly irresponsible answer for her to give, especially in her role as the newly minted VP nominee and considering she knew that a vaccine was not going to be made available until it had gone through all the proper channels and necessary safety protocols.

A week later, Biden floated a “board of scientists” idea after being asked point-blank by a reporter if there was a “risk” he was undermining public confidence in a vaccine.

“It’s one thing for Donald Trump to say the vaccine is safe. Okay. Then give it to the board of scientists,” Biden stated. “Have total transparency so independent operators and scientists and companies go out and take a look at it.”

Considering how it was Democrats — and the media — who told the American people prior to the election to be skeptical of a vaccine because it was allegedly being “rushed through” by President Trump without safety checks, watching them do post-election flip-flops has been a bit much.

The combined efforts of the media and Democrats to cast doubt on the safety of a vaccine worked. As Pew Research revealed in mid-September, “51% now say they would definitely or probably get a vaccine to prevent COVID-19,” which they noted was a 21-percentage-point drop from May.

Fast forward to now and the same Democrats and left-leaning media figures who originally told Americans to be skeptical of a vaccine are now imploring people to take it.

As a result, it appears much of the pre-election skepticism promoted by these same people is magically evaporating.

There’s a reason why vaccine skeptics on the left have suddenly changed their tunes and are encouraging people to take it, and it is the same reason why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi admitted why she stalled the COVID relief bill until after the election — to give Biden-Harris credit for America’s virus recovery once it starts.

Suddenly an agreement on a COVID-relief bill is reality. The vaccine they said wouldn’t be available this year now is. We are now being told that the vaccine they told us wouldn’t be safe is indeed safe.

Their disagreements were never based on science. They deliberately manipulated the public on COVID relief and the efficacy of a vaccine in hopes their misinformation campaigns would lead to Trump’s defeat and give Biden some early victories.

That’s about as depraved as it gets.

Media analyst Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.