President Joe Biden received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television as part of a growing effort to convince the American public that the inoculations are safe.
“I’m doing this to show that people should be ready when it’s available to have the vaccine,” said Biden after receiving the photo, which was administered by a nurse at ChristianaCare Hospital in in Newark, Delaware. “Nothing to worry about.”
Biden offered a few compliments to the Trump administration saying he “deserves some credit for launching this with Operation Warp Speed,” but warned “this is just the beginning.”
“Getting a vaccine is one thing … but it’s going to take time,” he said before urging Americans to listen to health experts and follow their instructions on wearing a mask. as well as their advice to stop traveling over the holidays.
After receiving his photo, Biden was given a card reminding him of the second required dose of the vaccine in a few weeks. Biden was with his wife, Jill, who received her vaccine outside the camera earlier in the day.
Monday’s event comes on the same day that a second vaccine, issued by Moderna, will arrive in states, joining Pfizer in the country’s arsenal against COVID-19 pandemic, which is has now killed more than 317,000 people in the United States and spent a lifetime worldwide.
Top government officials last week joined the first Americans defended against COVID-19 as part of the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history.
Doses were given to Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and other lawmakers on Friday. They chose to publish their injections as part of a campaign to convince Americans that the vaccines are safe and effective among suspects, especially among Republicans.
Vice President Mike Pence will receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine photo at the White House building, December 18, 2020, in Washington, DC [Andrew Harnik/AP Photo]
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband are expected to get their first look next week.
But missing from action is President Donald Trump, who last week passed largely out of sight as he continues to lead about his election loss and float ever-expanding plans to try to stay in power. It is an approach that has alarmed some key supporters who see his silence as a missed opportunity for the president, who will step down on January 20, gain credit for helping to monitor the rapid development of the vaccine and burn its inheritance.
Trump, who previously leaked false information about vaccine risks, has not said when he plans to receive the bullet. He tweeted earlier this month that he was not “scheduled” to take it, but said he was looking forward to doing so at the right time.
The White House has said it is still talking about time with its doctors.
Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October and received a monoclonal antibody test treatment which he credited for his speedy recovery. The advisory board of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that people who have received such treatment should wait at least 90 days to receive the vaccine to prevent any relapse.
“When the time is right, I’m sure he’ll stay willing to take it,” White House Chairman Brian Morgenstern said Friday. “It’s just something we’re working through.”
However, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany gave a different explanation for the delay. She told reporters last week that Trump was holding back, in part, “to show Americans that our priorities are the most vulnerable”.
“The president wants to send a parallel message, which, you know, our long-term care facility residents and frontline staff are very important, and he wants to set an example. in that regard, “she said.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Vaccination Practices has stated that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the first to be licensed, is “safe and potentially effective” for people infected with COVID-19 and “should be offer regardless of previous history of symbolic or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection ”.
Although the minimum waiting time between infection and vaccination is not recommended, as recurrence is uncommon in the three months after a person becomes infected, the committee said that people who have tested positive can in the previous 90 days “delayed vaccination until near the end of this period. , if you wish ”.
The panel also recommends that those who received Trump treatment be suspended for vaccination for at least 90 days.
“Currently, there are no data on the safety and efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in people who received monoclonal or convalescent plasma antibodies as part of COVID-19 treatment,” he wrote, recommending that Cancel the vaccination “for at least 90 days, as a precautionary measure until further information is available, to prevent antibody treatment with vaccine – induced immune responses.”
Surgeon General Jerome Adams made that suggestion on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday when asked if Trump intended to get the bullet on camera.
“From a scientific point of view, I will remind people that the president has had COVID within the last 90 days. He received the monoclonal antibodies. And that’s one situation where we tell people that maybe you should stop getting the vaccine, talk to your health care provider to find out the right time, ”said Adams.
But others, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious diseases expert, have suggested Trump get the vaccine immediately.
“Even though the president himself was infectious, and it seems, antibodies would be likely to be immune, we are not sure how long that protection will last. So, to be absolutely sure, I would recommend getting the vaccine, ”he told ABC News.
The head of the Trump administration ‘s vaccination program, Moncef Slaoui, told CNN on Sunday that the vaccine is safe for those who have contracted the virus and offer stronger and potentially greater protection. the virus itself.
“We know that disease does not emit a strong immune response and declines over time. So I think, as a clear warning, it’s appropriate to get vaccinated because it’s safe, ”he said. “I think people should get the vaccine, of course.”