1:35 P.M. EDT
 
MS. PSAKI: Hi, everyone. Okay. All right. Just a few items at the top, and I have a bit of a hard out shortly after 2:00. I’m — I’ll be upstairs for people who have follow-up questions, but we’ll try to get to as many as possible.
 
So, I just wanted to recap just a few of the announcements made today on supply chains. It’s a huge announcement, so I wanted to make sure everybody was following it very closely.
 
Thanks to the President’s executive order in February, the launch of the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force in June, and the appointment of a dedicated port envoy in August, public and private sector leaders took another important step in coming together today to speed up the shipment of goods throughout the country by moving towards 24/7 operations.
 
Today, the Port of Los Angeles is expanding to 24/7 operations, which means it has nearly doubled the hours that cargo will be able to move out of its docks. This follows the same commitment from the Port of Long Beach a few weeks ago.
 
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has announced its members will work those extra shifts, adding needed capacity to clear existing backlogs.
 
Large companies are announcing they will use those expanded hours to move more cargo off the docks so ships can come to shore faster. Walmart, UPS, FedEx, Samsung, Home Depot, and Target are using more off-peak and nighttime hours to increase throughput.
 
These commitments will move more goods faster, including toys — just in case you were wondering — appliances — my kids are — and furniture that Americans purchased online or at their local small businesses and parts that are sent to U.S. factories for our workers to assemble into products, which will strengthen the resiliency of our supply chains.
 
It was inevitable, as we’ve talked about a bit in here, that our — a lot our economic challenges — that there would be economic challenges coming out of the pandemic. That is why President Biden has been just as focused on this as he has on the other challenges which he addressed in the American Rescue Plan.
 
These commitments are critical. And, obviously, we’re going to continue to build on it from here.
 
I also wanted to note that, earlier today, the President Biden signed H.R. 2278, a bill which gives federal designation to the 1,300-mile September 11th National Memorial Trail. The multi-use trail symbolizes resiliency and character while linking the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 Memorial.
 
As the bill notes, this is “a trail of remembrance to honor the fallen” and “keep their memories alive,” and is “a celebration of our nation’s resilience and perseverance since September 11th.”
 
Finally, I wanted to note that the FDA issued guidance for the food industry that provides voluntary, short-term sodium reduction targets in a wide variety of processed, packaged, and restaurant foods.
 
On average, Americans consume 50 percent more sodium than recommended, which is linked to high blood pressure and increased risk of heart disease and stroke. And we believe that today’s action will lead to a 12 percent reduction in average sodium intake over the next two and a half years, making this a critical step forward.
 
Josh, why don’t you kick us off?
 
Q  Great. Thanks, Jen. Two quick subjects. First, with today’s consumer prices report and President Biden’s pending choice about leadership at the Federal Reserve, how patient is this administration with inflation consistently running above the Fed’s 2 percent target?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, as you know, Josh, from following this closely, we obviously defer to the Federal Reserve and their projections and official targets, which they make regularly.
 
I would note that we’ve seen a decrease over the course of time, and that is still evident, if you look month to month, with the data that came out this morning. So, between the second quarter and third quarter of this year, monthly inflation increases have actually decelerated by 50 percent. And just to give you more specific data points, it was around 0.8 percent, and then it went down 0.4 percent. Hence, 50 percent.
 
So, we think this decrease reflects the view of the Federal Reserve continues to be — and many Wall Street forecasters, which continue to predict — project that inflation is expected to continue to decelerate in 2022 and beyond, as we come out of the pandemic.
 
So, it’s not about patience to us. We certainly understood and knew that when we were coming in — when the President was coming into office, and he was coming in at a time where we needed to turn the economy back on, where he was coming in at a time where unemployment was high, where wages were down, demand was down — which, as you know, you have — once you build up — when demand increases that can re- — result in an increase in prices — that, over time, as the economy’s turning back on, we’d see some of these transitory effects.
 
That’s what we — that’s what’s been predicted. That’s what we are — have been planning for. And, of course, next year, we expect it to come down as outside forecasters are projecting.
 
Q  Gotcha. Secondly, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe told AP that he was frustrated by the delay in passing infrastructure, saying, quote, “They all got to get their act together and vote.” What does President Biden believe he can do to make talks move faster and show verifiable progress for Democrats who are seeking office right now?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, time is not unlimited, Josh, and certainly the President and our entire senior team is continuing to press all members about the need to move forward and to find a way to unify around a package that can deliver results to the American people.
 
It is certainly notable that, of course, former Governor McAuliffe may or may not — he has an election coming up and so his timeline may be a little pressed by that. Doesn’t take an outside political analyst to tell you that.
 
But certainly, the President would like to move forward. He’s pressing members to move forward. He’s been very engaged over the last several days, as he has been throughout, as have members of our senior team. And as I said at the — at the outset, time is not unlimited.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Thanks, Jen. On the supply-chain issue, Secretary Buttigieg is saying that there may be challenges for last-minute shoppers. I’m among them. Secretary Yellen says, “There [could] be isolated shortages of goods… in the coming months.” So, can you give us a realistic breakdown of what Americans could be facing on these shortages come the holiday season? What are we talking about?
 
MS. PSAKI: For shipment of goods —
 
Q  Yes.
 
MS. PSAKI: — which I assume is what you’re asking about?
 
Q  Yes, yes.  
 
MS. PSAKI: So, the reason that the President has been working so hard for months — long before the last few weeks — to address supply-chain issues is because he knows — he knew they were multifaceted and that they were impacting a lot of different industries.
 
I know you’re asking about shipments and the shipment and movement of goods. And obviously, the announcement today related to the ports is a reflection of action taken by the President, by this administration to — to have an immediate impact. Obviously, there’s more that we will continue to press to be done as we’re looking to increase the shipment of goods moving more quickly. That’s one of the — one of the bottlenecks in the supply chain that will help address those concerns people have.
 
Look, we — I can’t make a prediction from you — for you that we’re going to solve every issue tomorrow and next week; we’re not. We’re coming out of an economic crisis caused by a pandemic. But what we are doing is working to — using every tool at our disposal to ease the impact on the American people, ease the impact on families as we look to the holidays, but certainly beyond that.
 
Q  But should Americans expect that this will get worse before it gets better?
 
MS. PSAKI: I’m not going to make a prediction of that from here. We know there are a number of issues that impact the supply chain. And I don’t want to make a prediction because it’s not just one issue.
 
Certainly, increasing the capacity at courts — at ports, not courts — at ports and increasing the number of hours will have a positive impact. There’s no question about that.
 
But there are other issues that impact the global supply chain, including the pandemic — something that we are working 24 hours a day to help address around the world. That’s impacted manufacturing some countries, manufacturing of goods in some places, and reducing the supply in some places. That’s one of the factors too. We’re also working to address that.
 
It’s not just one issue. But certainly, we’re going to use every lever at our disposal to address it, to make it — to address the bottlenecks as quickly as we can.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Let me ask that in a slightly similar but different way.
 
MS. PSAKI: Sure.
 
Q  Based on everything being announced today —
 
MS. PSAKI: Yeah.
 
Q  — can this administration guarantee that holiday packages will arrive on time?
 
MS. PSAKI: We are not the Postal Service or UPS or FedEx; we cannot guarantee. What we can do is use every lever at the federal government disposal to reduce delays, to ensure that we are addressing bottlenecks in the system, including ports and the need for them to be open longer hours so that goods can arrive. And we can continue to press not only workers and unions, but also companies to take as many steps as they can to reduce these delays.
 
Q  And on the companies’ aspect to this: There’s just a few lines about what exactly Walmart is committing to today. They’re increasing “use of nighttime hours significantly and projects they could increase throughput by as much as 50 percent over the next several weeks.”  
 
This is a company that was frequently maligned during the Democratic presidential primary as paying workers pretty bad wages in the view of those that were running. Did the administration seek any assurances from Walmart that these changes won’t affect their store workers or that there might be some kind of either pay raise or other labor assurances for those that are going to have to work these extra hours?
 
MS. PSAKI: I think you’re very familiar, Ed, with where the President stands on the minimum wage. The fact that it’s long overdue to increase the minimum wage is something that he has been quite vocal about for a range of companies.
 
It is also true that we recognize that families, people across the country are purchasing, whether they’re toys or gifts or just household goods from a range of suppliers, including Walmart. And we are working to ease the burden on them at the same time.
 
But we are not taking our foot off the gas pedal of pressing for an increase in the minimum wage for — and for companies to do the right thing.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Thanks, Jen. You guys have had this task force since June. There was the executive order back in February. You’ve been talking about how the President has been on top of this for months, but it seemed to get a lot worse before it’s gotten better — and often pointing to the pandemic as being a contributing factor. We’ve been in the pandemic for a year and a half now. So, why did it take until today to get these kinds of commitments that we’re seeing from the various groups that are here with the President today?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, I will say that we have had — and maybe everybody wasn’t here for this — but we have had the chairs of our Supply Chain Task Force in here at least twice to provide updates on the work that is — been ongoing on — under this administration.
 
One of those issues has certainly been ensuring that there aren’t bottlenecks at ports, but there are a lot of other issues that we’ve been working to address in the global supply chain.
 
One of them has certainly been the increase in the vulnerabilities in our food system. It’s something that we’ve seen impact some communities across the country and impact the price of goods sometimes when people go to the grocery store. That’s one of the reasons the President pressed for more competition, why Secretary of — Secretary Vilsack has been focused on this as one of his primary issues, one of the reasons we announced the Food Supply Chain Loan Guarantee program.
 
And I would certainly say that, over the course of the last several months, when people go to the grocery store and they’re trying to buy a pound — or two pounds, five pounds; however big their family is — of meat, that’s an issue that has been impacting them nearly every single day.
 
We also know that there are issues in the supply chain as it relates to housing and the cost of housing across the country. That’s one of the reasons the President has been so focused and the Supply Chain Task Force has been focused — and there’s money, also, in some of his proposals he’s signed into law to address that issue to reduce the cost of lumber and make sure that that is available so that new build — new houses can be built and we can address the housing shortage and address housing prices.
 
So, I would say, for average people sitting at home, they’re not focused just on the port. Of course they are; they’re focused on getting their goods. But they’re focused on the cost of goods. They’re focused on how much meat costs. They’re focused on what their checkbook looks like.
 
And we’ve been working to address each of those issues in the supply chain from the beginning of this administration.
 
Q  A lot of the remedies you guys have come up with are going to take some time to actually have an impact. I mean, expediting commercial driver licenses for truck drivers; you know, getting ports to 24/7 hours. This is going to potentially take some time.
 
Is there any consideration that the President would declare a national emergency, have the military help with this kind of thing, or get money from the National Defense Fund to try to help these companies that are now having to work overtime hours with labor shortages?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, we are continuing to press and look for ways that we can address the bottlenecks in the supply chain, and this is an important and vital step. We want to, of course, give the time to implement it, to your point, but we will continue to look for any additional steps we can take to ease the burden on families across the country.
 
Q  And then, if the President has also pointed to this situation as a good reason to pass the bipartisan hard infrastructure bill, why then did he not push for a vote on that bill when he had a chance a couple of weeks ago so that this time could be truncated a little bit?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, because you need the majority of people in Congress to vote for something in order to sign it into law. And also because, as it relates to addressing a range of issues in our economy — as much as wages are up and unemployment are down, we — unemployment is down — we also recognize there are longer-term issues we want to address, including inflation.
 
And that is something — while it is going to come down next year, and those are their predictions — the Build Back Better agenda, the President’s economic agenda will help bring that down. That is what 17 Nobel laureates have told us and have told all of you. So, he wants his entire agenda passed, and that’s what he thinks will be good for the economy long term.
 
And you, of course, need the majority of votes in both Congresses to get that done.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  In sort of a summary of this: You know, Presidents get blame or credit for a whole range of things that they may not have direct control over.
 
MS. PSAKI: Yeah.
 
Q  Is there a sense in the White House here that the President could be blamed for a frustrating holiday season or shopping season if these goods don’t flow? Is that an active concern that’s motivating some of these steps?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, I think, Kelly, what’s motivating some of these steps is the President wants to get — ensure the American people are able to order goods, they’re able to get toys delivered to their home, they’re able to go to the grocery store and be able to afford meat and any goods that they want.
 
He understands and we all understand that daily cost — as much as wages have gone up, as much as unemployment has gone down, as much as a lot of progress has been made on the economy — he understands these are issues that are impacting people in their day-to-day lives.
 
I also — in response to an earlier question, you know, we can’t overpromise here. And I’m not going to do that from here because there are a lot of issues in the global supply chain. We knew that from the first day. That’s why he set up this task force. That’s why this has been a top priority. And we’ve been attacking those issues one by one, because we know they have different challenges and different solutions.
 
Q  Any update yet on the President signing the debt ceiling legislation?
 
MS. PSAKI: We’re just — as soon as it comes to the White House, the President will sign it. And we’ll — we’ll keep you up to date.
 
As you all know, but for others who may not be following as — or haven’t followed this as closely — it can take some time to process. But as soon as it gets here, we’ll sign it and we’ll let all of you know.
 
Q  Thanks, Jen. Can you tell us anything about the conversation with President Biden and Senator McConnell last week — what they spoke about? And also, could you clarify how many times they’ve spoken directly since he took office?
 
MS. PSAKI: I’m just not going to detail that further from here. He has known Senator McConnell for a long time. He does believe there are areas they can agree and can work together, and he’s going to continue to seek opportunities to do that.
 
Q  Also, today — there’s some reporting today that Senator Sinema says she has directly communicated to the White House what she is and is not willing to do in these negotiations. Is that accurate? And if so, can you give us any sense of where — what your understanding is of where she is, in particular on prescription drug prices?
 
MS. PSAKI: We’ll let her speak to her position on that particular issue. I will note that lowering the cost of prescription drugs is something the President is deeply committed to and the vast majority of the American people would like to see happen.
 
It makes sense for Medicare to be able to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. That’s why he proposed it and put it in this package, but I’ll let her speak to her position —
 
Q  But has she been in direct contact with the White House on this? Is that accurate?
 
MS. PSAKI: We have — of course. We’ve been in consistent contact with Senator Sinema from a high level. Of course, as you know, the President has spoken with her and met with her a number of times. She’s been in touch with senior members of our White House team. And we’re working with her, we’re working with Senator Manchin, we’re working with a range of Democrats to move this legislation forward.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Thank you. Reuters is reporting that the administration is in touch with oil and gas producers about how to bring down rising fuel costs. I was wondering if you could say which companies and if you’ve asked them to increase production, and, if so, how they responded.
 
MS. PSAKI: I’m actually not aware of any contact with oil and gas companies around this particular issue.
 
Q  There’s other reporting that suggests that administration officials, including Secretary Granholm, Vilsack, and Blinken met last night to discuss rising fuel prices. I was wondering if you could confirm those names and also what are the options that they were discussing.
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, we are very well aware for a range of issues — and we should talk about those — that the American people are, of course, impacted by rising prices of gas in some parts of the country — not all — and also looking ahead to the winter season and looking at natural gas supply out there. Maybe they don’t look at it exactly through that prism, but I would say we do.
 
And so, of course, the President has asked his economic team, as they do on any range of issues impacting the public, to continue to discuss what the options are that we can take to address the shortages.
 
Now, we know that some of the issue here is supply as a result of the pandemic. And there’s a natural gas shortage around the world, hence the need for the United States to continue to export natural gas.
 
There are a range of, of course, options that we can look into to help address, but I’m not in a position yet to outline anything more we can — any additional steps we can take.
 
Q  Could you say if the administration has a preferred oil price per barrel?
 
MS. PSAKI: I’m not going to outline that from here.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Is there any concern in the White House that the embrace of the Fed’s use of transitory at best makes your job more complicated, month over month, to explain what’s going on with inflation; at worst could be misleading for folks who don’t necessarily get that “transitory” may mean a year or longer?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, the way we view it is that it’s important to preserve the independence of the Federal Reserve, and that can give the American people and the markets confidence in what their projections and their predictions are. And that’s long been — long been how these issues have been approached throughout history. And we think that’s important to continue that trend.
 
Transitory — I guess I — I don’t have an assessment of how many people know exactly what that means or what that means to them. We know that what the Federal Reserve and Wall Street economists and others are projecting is that the rate of inflation will come down next year.
 
What that means is that, as people have seen these increase in goods — an increase in some costs of goods over the course of the last year or so as the economy is turning back on and, as I would note, we were turning from a period of time where the unemployment rate was high, people didn’t have a lot of excess money in wages to spend on goods, so naturally the demand has come up over the course of the last year — that that is — the projection is it’s coming down.
 
So, I wouldn’t say it’s complicated as for — for us. We look at things over the long term. And we know that if the American people, businesses, the markets can rely on the independence of the Federal Reserve, that’s good for the economy and good for our — the integrity of that.
 
Q  I think — to put a finer point on it, I just mean that, you know, you — everyone is saying transitory in February and March.
 
MS. PSAKI: Yeah.
 
Q  I understand the nuance and the economics of what’s going on here, but —
 
MS. PSAKI: Yes, I know you do, but —
 
Q  — but when the deceleration is happening slower perhaps than people expected a few months ago, and people are still paying 10 or 15 or 20 percent more for meat, and they’re saying, “Why was it supposed to be transitory three months ago, four months ago, and we’re still here?,” does that make things more difficult to explain as to why that’s the case?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, it requires us explaining — and through working with all of you as well — that the cost of meat is also related to competition and the small number of large meat producers who have a dominance over the market; and the fact that a lot of these issues are not as simple as a one-sentence explanation; and that different industries have different issues in the supply chains — different issues that are causing some increases in prices.
 
And also because we all understand the American people are not looking at cost-to-cost comparisons from this year to two years ago; they’re looking at cost-to-cost comparisons to their checkbooks from 8 months ago or 12 months ago. And even though, factually, if you look back to two years ago, things may be comparative, that’s not how people look at things.
 
So, our objective here is to tackle each of these issues with the approach that we think will help address it in the shortest term.
 
Q  And just one more on supply chains: To what degree has the work of the task force kind of underscored just how limited the options may be for the federal government dealing with a global, economic, first time coming out of a once-in-a-century pandemic type of situation right now?
 
MS. PSAKI: Yeah. Well, I think there are some realities about an economy turning back on and moving from a period where there was low demand, where there was not the production of goods, even of a range of supplies the American people are looking for — that as it’s turning back on and as demand has increased as it did, that there would be ups and downs. And that’s what we’re experiencing right now.
 
And our hope and our intention is to continue to implement policies that will help address this over the long term and ensure that we can address inflation over the long term, which is exactly what the President’s agenda will do.
 
Q  Thanks, Jen. On the issue of wages: Has the President given up on the idea of the $15 minimum wage, or is that something he still intends to pursue? And if so, when?
MS. PSAKI: Absolutely. He wants to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. He remains committed.
 
As you know, it was in an earlier package and then was not approved by the parliamentarian, but it is something that he’s still absolutely committed to increasing. He thinks it’s long overdue.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Thanks, Jen. I have two questions. The first is just on the rules around the employer mandates or around vaccinations.
 
MS. PSAKI: Sure. The OSHA — OSHA regulations?
 
Q  Yes, the OSHA regulations, sorry, getting to the White House today — or yesterday — and kind of what’s next, how long you think it will take for the White House to review since this is an emergency situation and has been framed as such.
 
And then how long it would take to implement — like, sort of, what’s the timeframe for this actually happening now?
 
MS. PSAKI: Sure. So, we don’t always typically pay attention to the OIRA process, which is understandable. But what’s happened right now is OSHA — Occupational Safety and Health Administration — they are over- — they produ- — they created these regulations. They worked — they’ve been working expeditiously to develop an Emergency Temporary Standard that covers employers with a hundred or more employees — so that’s, of course, what you’re referring to, but just to get us up to speed here — to ensure workers who are fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing to protect employee — undergo weekly testing or are fully vaccinated to protect employees.
 
So, as part of the regulatory review process, what happened yesterday is the agency submitted the initial text of the Emergency Temporary Standard to the Office of Management and Budget. And now what happens is that it will be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget — OIRA, which is a division of the Office of Management and Budget that does regulatory reviews.
 
We don’t, as a prac- — as a longstanding practice, comment on the timeline of how long that takes because we want to allow that process to happen. But, you know, it should be an indication that it’s there and now it is being reviewed. And once it is finalized and through the OIRA process and review, it will be posted publicly in the Federal Register and you will all have access to every detail of it.
 
Q  Okay. One other question on a different subject. The World Bank and IMF are having their annual meetings just, you know, down the street from here right now. And there’s obviously a lot of questions around the leadership there. Does President Biden have confidence in the leadership of the IMF and the World Bank, given the questions about the integrity of each institution? And is he concerned about China’s growing influence at the international financial institution where the U.S. is still the biggest contributor?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, I believe the Treasury Department did — did express concern about a report that was recently issued. So I’d certai- — certainly point you to that. Otherwise, the President does have co- — continues to have confidence.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  The President’s commission on the review of the Supreme Court — the suggestion of reforms — is said to be wrapping up its work this week. Has — have the commission chairs presented their findings to the President yet? Has he had a chance to review them in advance of what we expect will be some sort of public report?
 
MS. PSAKI: Right. So here’s where this stands. This is a day of processes in the government; how fun.
 
So, the commission will release the draft preliminary discussion materials tomorrow, which is their timeline or their de- — was their deadline, and they will meet that — meet that timeline.
 
These have not been submitted to the White House for edits or feedback, and their release will be followed by a public meeting of the commission on Friday. They will then form their final report and submit it to the President in mid-November. So that is the process that will transpire from here.
 
And like we’ve said previously, our objective here is to allow for this process, made up of a diverse range of experts and voices, to move forward and represent different viewpoints. And we’re not going to comment on it — or the President wouldn’t comment on it until a report is final and he has the chance to review it at that period of time.
 
If I may, let me just remind people of what they are looking at so that when you see this preliminary discussion materials released, you will know what you’re looking for. The Commission on Supreme Court is a group of about 30 members representing a wide spectrum of different viewpoints. Its mission was to evaluate a number of questions that have prompted calls for reform in a different — in a number of different areas, and, importantly, it will analyze both arguments in favor and against such proposals.
 
So, the topics they’re examining include the origins of the reform debate, the Court’s role in the constitutional system, the length of service and turnover of the justices on the Court, the membership and size of the Court, and the Court’s case-selection rules and practices.
 
And that’s what they’ll be looking at, which will be reflected in the preliminary discussion materials.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Thank you so much. On these new land border crossing rules, what happens if fully vaccinated people present themselves for asylum at an official port of entry? Will they be allowed to ask for asylum and begin their immigration proceedings?
 
MS. PSAKI: This is — the Title 19, different from Title 42. So, Title 19 applies to individuals who have the proper documentation to come into the United States. It would be a different process. And Title 42, as you know, remains in place.
 
Q  And then on — the Kenyan President is meeting with President Biden tomorrow. They’re going to talk about, quote, “a need to bring transparency and accountability to domestic and international financial systems,” which is rich, considering the revelations in the Pandora Papers that the Kenyan President owned a whole network of offshore companies. How do you square that with the fact that he’s kind of a poster boy for that behavior?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, the President has a range of meetings diplomatically with leaders where he has shared interests of the United States and their country, and may also have areas where there’s disagreement. And the President has been quite vocal, as you all know, about the inequities in the international system — financial system and also domestically. That’s part of his —
 
Q  But —
 
MS. PSAKI: Let me finish my answer. There is — that’s why he’s proposed what he’s proposed domestically. He’s made no secret of that. And certainly, that’s something he would convey as applicable. But that doesn’t mean you don’t meet with people you have disagreements on. And —
 
Q  Will he push him on it at least?
 
MS. PSAKI: I — that — his view on this has been quite clear, and I don’t think he will hold back. But I would remem- — I would remind you: We have a range of interests in working with Kenya and working with them on issues in Africa, in the region, and that will be the primary focus of the meeting.
 
Go ahead.
 
Q  Thanks, Jen.
 
Q  Thanks, Jen.
 
MS. PSAKI: Okay, last ones. Last one, Karen.
 
Q  Thanks. The White House told governors yesterday to be ready in early November to start vaccinating kids ages 5 through 11. There was a poll in September from the Kaiser Family Foundation that said a third of parents are going to do this right away; 32 percent of parents said they wanted to wait and see.
 
You guys have been doing this now for nine months to try and encourage adults to get vaccinated. What do you do the same to encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated? And what has to be done different — differently, given this unique age group? What are the concerns there?
 
MS. PSAKI: Well, we certainly understand. You’re a parent; I’m a parent. Parents are going to want to go and ask their doctor questions; ask the pedia- — their pediatrician questions; better understand the safety, the efficacy of the vaccine.
 
Yes, of course, it wouldn’t be available until it’s fully through the gold-standard FDA approval process, but we know that. We understand that.
 
What we will be doing is, of course — knock on wood — when this is approved — you know, empowering local medical experts, pediatricians, doctors who can speak to this who can answer questions as they have them. We’ll be encouraging people to speak to their doctors.
 
I’m sure, as we get closer — if we get to that point — we will have more to say about how we’ll be communicating with parents and meeting them where they are.
 
Thanks, everyone.
 
2:05 P.M. EDT