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Biden’s bribe: Americans who receive booster jab this winter will get $20 off sky-high groceries

November 19, 2022 | | Print Article

In what looks like an act of sheer desperation, President Biden is offering Americans a $20 discount on groceries at CVS, Safeway, Winn-Dixie, or Rite Aid this winter if they will go out and get an Omicron-specific COVID booster.

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

Biden received an updated booster shot for COVID three weeks ago and sent out a message beseeching Americans to do the same, according to the Daily Mail. Most of the country proceeded to ignore the warning, having moved past the pandemic and on to other more pressing emergencies such as roaring inflation.

The laughable $20 discount being offered comes as inflation rages in the United States, driving up the cost of food and other items just in time for the holidays. A recent American Farm Bureau report noted that Thanksgiving dinner this year will cost 20 percent more than it did last year.

The Chicken Little White House and so-called medical experts are once again warning of a potential spike in COVID cases and hospitalizations this winter. In conjunction with an aggressive flu season, hospitals could be overwhelmed by it.

The worst flu outbreak in ten years and a surge in the common cold are both being blamed on pandemic lockdowns that suppressed people’s immunity to seasonal illnesses.

The COVID bivalent booster rollout has been notably unpopular among Americans. Just over 11 percent who are 5 years old and older have taken the jab which is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending.

In contrast to what the US is pushing, Denmark and Norway are no longer offering the vaccine to non-seniors. Sweden is only giving it to those over 18 years old, according to the Daily Mail.

The grocery discounts were rolled out on October 25 by the White House as an evident bribe to get struggling Americans to submit to another vaccination.  The administration partnered with Albertsons, which owns over 2,000 stores across America including Safeway. They also hooked up with Acme and Kings Food Markets. The program fell flat.

Americans who visit an Albertsons-owned pharmacy are eligible to get 10 percent off their groceries, with a cap at $20, if they get their shot in-store.

People who go to CVS for the jab can receive $5 off their purchases of $20 or more. Rite Aid will give the same discount for purchases of $25 or more.

Southeastern Grocers, which owns Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket, and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, is offering $20 in free groceries when you receive a COVID or flu shot.

Biden pushed getting the jab ahead of the holidays, “Get the shot. Get 5, 10, 20 dollars off at your drugstore or grocery purchase at the time you get the shot. Some are making it easy for you just to walk in and get your vaccine right away, including on nights and weekends.”

“We’re here with a simple message: get vaccinated. Update your COVID vaccine. It’s incredibly effective, but the truth is not enough people are getting it. We’ve got to change that so we can all have a safe and healthy holiday season,” the president urged.

“As a country, we have a choice to make. Can we repeat what happened in the past winters — more infections, more hospitalizations, more loved ones getting sick, even dying from the virus? Or can we have a much better winter if we use all — all — the tools we have available to us now?” Biden asked, avoiding the “winter of death” schtick from last year.

The Biden administration has announced it will stop paying for COVID vaccines this fall. Congress doesn’t have an appetite for funding anymore. So, while Americans get $20 off their groceries, they will have to pony up for the jab.

The administration announced in August that it would begin transitioning out of the acute emergency phase. The move will shift more control over pricing and coverage to the healthcare industry and big pharma which plans to make profitable use of it.

Right now, the Biden administration reimburses providers of vaccines $40 to collect, store, and administer them. Patients don’t pay anything to get vaccinated.

But that is ending and soon if you want the shot, you will have to get it from a hospital or from your doctor via your insurance provider.

Dr. Ashish Jha, who is the White House COVID-19 response coordinator remarked, “My hope is that in 2023, you’re going to see the commercialization of almost all of these products… Some of that is actually going to begin this fall, in the days and weeks ahead.”

Pfizer is getting ready to triple the cost of its shot to $130 a dose. That’s potentially a 10,000 percent markup from the price of manufacturing the shots which is $1.18, according to the Daily Mail.

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