Dana Perino suggests Biden has failed to use 'vaccine diplomacy' to tackle COVID

close

Video

'The Five' discuss Biden agenda falling through in first year

'The Five' react to President Biden's first year of crises and discuss what he could have done better amid plummeting approval.

The Biden administration could have done more to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic by dedicating resources to international distributions of vaccines, Dana Perino said on "The Five" Thursday.

"I do think there's one thing that the administration could have done differently on vaccines," she said. "They should have done more on international distribution, because where are these variants coming from? … One of the ways to deal with the pandemic is to try to squash it everywhere by getting everybody vaccinated ... Imagine if they had done a huge effort of surge all around the world to get vaccines out there."

Fox host Dana Perino and President Joe Biden (Fox News | Chip Somodevilla-Getty Images)

Russia and China have been leading in selling and distributing millions of vaccines. 

Experts say the countries are using the vaccines to expand their global influence in what is being dubbed, "vaccine diplomacy." As early as April, the U.S. intelligence community said it was concerned that China and Russia were using vaccines to boost their "geopolitical standing."

A person holding a medical syringe and a vaccine vial in front of the Sputnik V logo displayed on a screen. On Thursday, October 21, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

CHINA TO USE 'VACCINE DIPLOMACY' TO INCREASE INFLUENCE, US INTEL COMMUNITY WARNS

Most recently, Israel confirmed Wednesday that it would be donating one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Africa in order to stifle COVID-19 and to strengthen the Israel-Africa relationship. Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid said distributing the vaccines would help "eradicate the virus worldwide." 

Perino said Biden pressing the gas on international vaccine efforts would serve to boost American "diplomacy."

"I think that looking back, that's something they should have done, but it's also something they probably could do now," she concluded.

Brian Kilmeade added that another thing Biden did wrong on COVID-19 is that he created friction with Americans.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"By deciding to do this thing – mandate – the mask mandate and the vaccine [mandate], he created an adversarial relationship with the American public."

Third grade  students wear masks at Montara Avenue Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Geraldo Rivera, on the other hand, believes that President Biden is, at least in part, the victim of bad circumstances. 

"I think that what's happening seriously is a COVID malaise," he said. "I really believe that if we had been beating the disease this holiday season, people would be upbeat … It's something that preoccupies everybody. With … the uncertainties of the disease I think that the country's in a very sour mood and Joe Biden['s] … misfortune is [being] on the receiving end of that."