Psaki and Fox News reporter spar over Biden's 'pandemic of the unvaccinated' comments: 'You're 17 times more likely to go to the hospital if you're not vaccinated, 20 times more likely to die'

• Jen Psaki was asked about President Joe Biden's "pandemic of the unvaccinated" characterization.
• Peter Doocy of Fox News implied it was inaccurate because vaccinated people could still be infected.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, on Monday clashed with a Fox News reporter over President Joe Biden's characterization of the COVID-19 crisis as a "pandemic of the unvaccinated."

Peter Doocy, who returned to the White House briefing room on Monday after recovering from a coronavirus infection, suggested that Biden's characterization of the pandemic didn't take into account the high number of fully vaccinated Americans who had contracted the virus.

"I understand the science says that vaccines prevent death. But I'm triple vaxxed, still got COVID. You're triple vaxxed, still got COVID," Doocy told Psaki, referring to when the fully vaccinated press secretary contracted the virus in October. "Why is the president still referring to this as a pandemic of the unvaccinated?"

Psaki said unvaccinated people infected with the coronavirus were much more likely to be hospitalized or die of COVID-19 than those who were vaccinated.

"I had been triple vaxxed," Psaki said, meaning she received two vaccine doses and a booster. "I had minor symptoms. There's a huge difference between that and being unvaccinated."

Psaki cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying: "You're 17 times more likely to go to the hospital if you're not vaccinated, 20 times more likely to die."

The CDC also found that through the end of October, unvaccinated people in the US were 10 times as likely to test positive for the virus as people who had received a booster dose.

"Those are significant, serious statistics," she added. "So yes, the impact for people who are unvaccinated is far more dire than those who are vaccinated."

Doocy kept pressing Psaki on Biden's messaging.

"Will the president update his language at some time to be more reflective of the fact that people who are triple vaccinated are catching and spreading COVID?" he asked.

Psaki said the White House had made clear that vaccinated people could still test positive for the coronavirus, reiterating the "significant difference" between the unvaccinated and vaccinated in terms of the severity of COVID-19.

Biden has repeatedly called the public-health crisis a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" and pointed to the significantly worse health outcomes among unvaccinated people. COVID-19 vaccines have for months been widely available to Americans in most age groups, but about 15% of adults in the US were still unvaccinated as of two weeks ago, The New York Times reported.

Monday's exchange came with the US facing a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant. The daily average of newly admitted COVID-19 hospital patients for the week that ended January 4 was 16,458, according to the CDC. The CDC says vaccination is the best way to prevent severe illness and death from the virus.