U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, speaking during an award acceptance speech this week, praised President Donald Trump and his administration for their help with the development of two coronavirus vaccines.
Cheney received the American Life Sciences Innovation Council’s 2020 Champion of Health Care Innovation award from the Wyoming Hospital Association, the Casper Chamber of Commerce, the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce and the Wyoming Medical Society.
“One of the stories that has not [been as prominent[ is the really incredible process that has gone on through Operation Warp Speed put in place by President Trump and the task force at the White House,” she said during her comments on a Zoom call this week. “I think the untold story that’s not getting enough credit is the distribution system that’s been set up.”
Cheney credited the Trump administration’s establishment of a partnership between the military and the American private sector. She also hailed the administration’s decision to leave the distribution of a vaccine and other health mandates up to the states, instead of implementing nationwide health orders.
She added a jab at the transition process between the Trump administration and incoming President-Elect Joe Biden’s team, saying she was “grateful” the latter didn’t yet have access to the vaccine distribution system yet, as she believed the Biden administration would seize the vaccines and “nationalize” them.
She also commented on Gov. Mark Gordon’s recent order to send assistance to hospitals across the state, especially in Cheyenne and Gillette.
“The vaccines are certainly the light at the end of the tunnel, and those are coming very quickly, but we’re going to have to get people through the next several months here and make sure that people’s businesses can continue to thrive,” Cheney concluded.
