No, Biden didn't ask for money to create another pandemic | Fact check
The claim: Biden said funding is needed to plan a second pandemic
[En Espa?ol: No, Biden no pidió dinero para crear otra pandemia]
A July 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a video clip of President Joe Biden at the White House giving a speech about the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need more money... but not only to vaccinate children,” reads the post’s text in Spanish. “We need more money to PLAN the SECOND PANDEMIC.”
The subtitles on a video in the post make the same assertion, saying in Spanish, "At the end we need more money to plan the second pandemic."
Other versions of the claim spread on Instagram and on X, formally Twitter.
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Our rating: False
In the video clip from 2022, Biden says funding is needed to plan for another pandemic, not to plan one. The Spanish subtitles and text in the post excluded the word "for," changing the meaning to assert a second pandemic would be intentionally created.
Video subtitles and text in Spanish are missing a word
The post shows a clip of Biden’s remarks on June 21, 2022, at the White House. In the full speech, he was asked how many young children could get vaccinated before he would need to ask Congress for more money.
Biden warned that more money would be needed, not just for vaccines but to prepare for the next pandemic. The video clip in the Facebook post, which is in English, makes that clear.
“Well, we’ll get through at least this year. We do need more money,” Biden says in the clip. “But we don’t just need more money for vaccines for children, eventually. We need more money to plan for the second pandemic. There’s going to be another pandemic. We have to think ahead.”
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Biden said nothing about getting money to plan or create a second pandemic, as the post's text and Spanish subtitles claim. The Facebook user excluded the word "for," which alters the meaning.
The country needs to prepare for the next pandemic, which could be more deadly than COVID-19, experts previously told USA TODAY.
At the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization warned that another pandemic could be 20 times worse than COVID-19, which is why it's important to have a plan in place to prevent or manage it, The Hill reported.
USA TODAY has debunked many false claims surrounding COVID-19, including that the pandemic was a hoax and that the COVID-19 vaccine 'shuts off' the heart.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
White House (YouTube), June 21, 2022, President Biden Delivers Remarks on COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Under Five
White House, June 21, 2022, Remarks by PresidentBiden on COVID-?19 Vaccines for Children UnderFive
USA TODAY, Jan. 1, 2023, As COVID turns 3, experts worry where the next pandemic will come from – and if we'll be ready
The Hill, Jan. 24, 2024, World health leaders warn of pandemic 20 times worse than COVID
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden didn't say funds were needed to plan a pandemic | Fact check