Dr. Oz is trying to pull a Trump. That is, ride TV celebrity into office. He may have a shot in the Republican primary, as the populace is infected with the celebrity culture. Here is his obligatory slam of Biden on COVID.

The New York Times and the liberal media will say anything they can to try and tear down my campaign because I am a conservative working to empower you. My actions speak louder than their words. https://t.co/nK2kybCMMr

— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) January 1, 2022

Oz: On Jan. 20, 2020, our country changed forever when the CDC confirmed its first case of COVID-19 in the United States. Exactly one year later, Joe Biden took office after campaigning on the promise that he was “going to shut down the virus.”

Fast-forward to today, as we near the one-year mark of his presidency. It’s clear that even though Biden said he would defeat this virus, it’s COVID that has defeated him. And based on his shocking admission that there is “no federal solution” to the pandemic, it looks like he knows it too.

In his campaign, Biden’s closing message centered on his ability to lead us through and out of this pandemic, yet more than half of Americans now say they disapprove of his handling of the pandemic.

COVID was considered a bright spot of Biden’s presidency by his cheerleaders in the mainstream media. Now the pandemic belongs on his growing list of failures, including the border crisis, his deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, supply chain breakdowns, and skyrocketing costs for consumer goods and services.

Where did he go wrong? Joe Biden tried to make the pandemic bend to his politics – picking and choosing when to follow the science and when to follow his far-left, radical liberal base. It’s gross incompetence that is hurting our country, leaving many to wonder if we’re transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic.

We’ve witnessed President Biden’s gross incompetence when developing the testing we need to keep this under control. Biden’s own press secretary scoffed at the idea to send free tests to every American just days before the Biden administration announced a plan to mass mail 500 million at-home tests. Now, many experts, including myself, are worried this effort comes too late.

Meandering bureaucrats slowed our ability to get life-saving therapeutics in the hands of those who needed them, and we still don’t have enough approved. I have made this argument since the early days of the pandemic. Doctors don’t just prevent disease. We also need tools and strategies to help patients during breakthroughs of disease. We witnessed shockingly slow evaluations of life-saving drugs that existed prior to the emergence of COVID and could have saved thousands of lives.

Just before Christmas, the FDA approved Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an antiviral pill that is 90% effective in keeping high-risk COVID patients out of the hospital, but the supply available to hospitals is limited, capping the potential benefit of these crucial therapeutics.  Pharmacies have no idea when they will receive the drug for outpatient use by desperate COVID-infected customers.

I’m still deeply concerned about President Biden’s refusal to make monoclonal antibodies directly available for states to purchase as needed. As cases rise, we must use all treatments at our disposal to help save lives – no matter where the cases may occur.

This piece was written by David Kamioner on January 10, 2022. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Objectivist. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.