WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden intends to publicly receive the coronavirus vaccine as early as next week, his transition team said Wednesday as health officials try to overcome any doubts about his safety. .
Vice President Mike Pence will be vaccinated Friday, the White House said. His wife, Karen Pence, and surgeon general Jerome Adams will also get the shot at what the White House said was an effort to “promote the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and build trust among the American people.”
Biden has said he would follow the recommendations of Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Hospitals across the United States have begun receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. WSJ visits a New York City hospital to see what the possible obstacles are when it comes to starting vaccinations. Photo: Mount Sinai Queens
The president-elect has stressed the importance of helping the public combat any skepticism about the vaccine. He told reporters Wednesday: “I don’t want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure we show the American people that it’s safe to take.”
Two Biden transition officials said Biden would receive the injection as soon as next week. Officials said Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be vaccinated soon and, like Mr Biden, in public. No specific details have been announced yet.
Dr. Fauci said Tuesday in an interview with ABC News that Biden and Harris should be inoculated as soon as possible “for security reasons,” adding that he would like Biden to be “fully protected” when he enters the presidency in January. . Dr. Fauci said he would recommend that President Trump and Mr. Pence receive the vaccine.
Trump, who hired Covid-19 earlier this year, has no immediate plans to get vaccinated, the White House said.
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“People working in the White House should receive the vaccine a little later in the program, unless specifically needed,” he tweeted Sunday after news reports that top employees would receive shots. “It simply came to our notice then. I’m not scheduled to get the vaccine, but I hope to do it at the right time. “
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany appeared Monday on Fox News: “Key officials, such as Situation Room staff, among others, will have access to this vaccine, some members of Congress.”
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have said they would be vaccinated in public.
The vaccine has developed at a record rate, which has caused some concern for its safety, as well as a long-standing skepticism about vaccines among some populations. Sandra Lindsay, a New York City nurse who was among the first to receive the shooting, said she hoped to instill confidence in the public, noting that some in the West India community are reluctant to take it. .
Mrs. Lindsay, who is originally from Jamaica, said the inoculation felt no different from any other. “We all have to do our part to end the pandemic,” he said.
A poll released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 71% of respondents said they would get a vaccine, up from 63% in a September poll. About a quarter of the public is still hesitant, according to the survey, and people say they probably or definitely would not get a vaccine.
A Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll in October found that approximately 70% of registered voters surveyed said they would get a vaccine against Covid-19, although many said they would wait until it was available for a while. to see if there are any problems or effects. According to the WSJ / NBC poll, thirty percent of blacks said they would not get any vaccine, compared to 15 percent of whites and 20 percent of Hispanics.
Write to Ken Thomas at [email protected] and Alex Leary at [email protected]
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