Biden indicates he pressured emergency room to fast-track a 'good friend'
Biden said he 'wasn't complaining' when he called the hospital
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden said Thursday he personally reached out to a hospital the night before to ensure the wife of his "good friend" received immediate care because the "waiting room was so crowded."
"Last night, I was on the telephone with a person at an emergency hospital ward in Pennsylvania because a good friend had called, and he had rushed his significant other to the emergency room because this woman was having trouble breathing, had a high fever, and could not catch her breath," Biden said during a speech in Illinois promoting COVID-19 vaccine mandates for businesses. "They got her into the hospital. The waiting room was so crowded, things were so backed up they couldn't even get her to be seen initially. So, because I knew this person, I called. I called the desk receiving nurse and asked what the situation was."
US DAILY COVID-19 DEATHS DECLINE 12% OVER 2 WEEKS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"To make long story short, it took a while because all of the – not all – the vast majority of the emergency rooms and docs were occupied taking care of COVID patients," Biden added. "I bet every one of you can name somebody who got sent to the hospital with something other than COVID and couldn't get it taken care of."
Biden said that he "wasn’t complaining" when he made the phone call because doctors and nurses working in overcrowded hospitals are "getting the living hell kicked out of them, sometimes physically."
According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, America is experiencing a decline in daily COVID-19 deaths after a two-month steady increase to mid-September.
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A seven-day moving average indicates a 12% decline over the last two weeks, from 1,630 on Sept. 21 to 1,428 on Oct. 5, per the latest available figures. Nevertheless, the country logged a grim milestone late Friday when the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000.
Fox News did not immediately receive a response from the White House to a request for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Kayla Rivas contributed to this article.