WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence on Friday became the top U.S. official to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a live television event aimed at reassuring North Americans. Americans that the shot is safe. He celebrated the milestone as “a medical miracle” that could eventually contain the furious pandemic.
Visibly missing in the wake of the victory: President Donald Trump, who has been left almost out of sight five days after the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history.
Meanwhile, Pence has taken an increasingly visible role in highlighting the safety and effectiveness of the shots, including the tour of a vaccine production plant this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday they will be vaccinated in the coming days. President-elect Joe Biden expects to receive his shot as soon as next week.
“She was OK. Well done, “Pence told Walter Reed National Military Medical Center technicians who administered his Pfizer-BioNTech shot Friday morning. Pence didn’t shudder during the quick puncture, nor did his wife, Karen, or the surgeon general Jerome Adams, who was also shot during the White House televised act in the Eisenhower executive office building.
“Hope is on its way,” Pence later said. “The American people can trust: we have one and maybe in a few hours two safe vaccines,” he added, referring to the FDA’s expected authorization for a second vaccine by Moderna.
He did not answer the so-called questions about why the president did not lead any similar event.
Adams, who is black, stressed the “importance of representation” in spreading at-risk communities and encouraged Americans to avoid misinformation about vaccines.
Five days into the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history, Trump has been largely absent from the effort to sell to the American public what helpers expect as a key part of his legacy. He has not held any public act to trumpet the launch. He has not inoculated himself. And he’s tweeted less than a handful of times about the shot.
Trump’s relative silence comes as he continues to stew about his defeat in the Nov. 3 election and embraces increasingly extreme efforts to overthrow the will of the people. He has set aside the plans of helpers who wanted him to be the public face of the vaccination campaign, avoiding visits to laboratories and production facilities to thank workers or organizing efforts to build public confidence in the shot, according to the people who know the conversations.
The strange approach has been striking, especially for a president rarely shy of taking credit, said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown Law professor who focuses on public health.
“The president’s relatively low profile on COVID’s response since the election is curious and contrary to Trump’s own interests,” he said. Gostin, who has criticized Trump’s treatment of the pandemic in the past, said he “deserves great credit” for Operation Warp Speed and called for two vaccines that use innovative mRNA technology..
“Having exhibited leadership in vaccine development, you should be very proud to publicly demonstrate your confidence in COVID vaccines,” he said.
Trump appeared at a White House “summit” before the Pfizer vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last week. That event included an introductory video highlighting previous comments from those, including the government’s top expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who doubted that a shot was ready this year.
Trump “will continue to update the country through a variety of means while giving medical professionals and OWS staff the space to do their jobs and save lives,” said Brian Morgenstern, deputy White House press secretary.
But many Trump aides are baffled by his low profile now that the vaccine is actually being injected. They see it as a missed opportunity for the president, who leaves office at noon on Jan. 20, to claim credit for helping oversee the rapid development and deployment of the vaccine that is expected to finally contain the virus that has killed more than 310,000 Americans. .
Trump himself has tried to minimize any credit that could fall to his successor, Biden, who will preside over the bulk of the nationwide injection campaign next year.
“Don’t let Joe Biden get credit for the shots,” Trump told reporters. “Don’t allow vaccines to be credited because I was me, and I pushed people harder than ever before.”
Despite Trump’s claims, FDA scientists were the ones who came up with the idea for Operation Warp Speed, the White House-backed effort to make millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines and treatments still which are still being evaluated. And much of the basis for the firings was laid over the last decade, including research on messenger RNA or mRNA, used in vaccines developed by both Pfizer and Moderna. Pfizer developed its vaccine outside of Operation Warp Speed, but is partnering with the federal government on manufacturing and distribution.
Trump’s discreet approach could have an impact on public health. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told NBC News this week that between 75% and 85% of the nation must be vaccinated to achieve “herd immunity,” which makes the campaign of public education on vaccine safety is even more urgent.
A survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about half of Americans want to get the vaccine as soon as possible.. Another quarter of the audience is unsure, while the remaining quarter says they are not interested. Some simply oppose vaccines in general. Others are worried that the injections have rushed and want to see how the launch goes.
Trump, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, he has not yet indicated when or if he will receive the shot.
According to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is still not enough information to determine whether those who have had COVID-19, such as Trump, should get the vaccine. Still, Fauci recommended Trump take it publicly without delay.
“Although the president himself was infected and probably has antibodies that would probably be protective, we are not sure how long this protection will last. Therefore, to be doubly sure, I would recommend that he be vaccinated just like the vice president “, Fauci told ABC News.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters this week that Trump, who has previously spread misinformation about other vaccines, “wants to send a side message that is, you know, our residents at the facility.” Long-term care and our front-line workers are important, “he said.
Gostin disagreed. “It will be hugely detrimental to public confidence in the vaccine if President Trump is not visibly enthusiastic, including his shooting on national television,” he argued. “It’s just not good enough to have Vice President Pence as a representative.”