US Vice-President Mike , along with his wife Karen and Surgeon General Jerome Adams, have received a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on live television as part of his continued effort to tout the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
“Make no mistake about it, it’s a medical miracle,” Pence said after his vaccination during an event at the White House complex. “But with cases rising across the country, with hospitalisations rising around the country, we have a ways to go.”
“Vigilance and the vaccine is our way through. And building confidence in the vaccine is what brings us here this morning,” Pence said.
In addition to receiving a dose of the vaccine, Pence toured a vaccine production facility this week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell have also that they will get vaccinated in the next few days. President-elect Joe Biden expects to receive his shot as soon as next week.
President Trump was a notable absentee from the inoculation which was attended by top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, Robert Redfield.
“We want virtually everyone eligible to get this vaccine ultimately,” Dr Fauci said in brief remarks. “By the time we get to several months into this [coming] year we will have enough people protected that we can start thinking seriously about the return to normality.”
The president, who contracted coronavirus in October and recovered after hospital treatment, has said he is not scheduled to take the jab but looked forward to doing so “at the appropriate time”.
He has held no public events to trumpet the roll-out five days into what has been dubbed “the largest vaccination campaign in the nation’s history,” a move experts are concerned could have an impact on public health.
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 public is not sure, while the remaining quarter says they are not interested. Some simply oppose vaccines in general. Others are concerned that the injections have been rushed and want to see how the roll-out goes.
Dr Fauci has intimated that 75 percent to 85 percent of the nation needs to be vaccinated to achieve “herd immunity”, making the public education campaign about the vaccine’s safety all the more pressing.
The sheepish approach has been surprising, especially for a president rarely shy to take credit, said Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown Law who focuses on public health.
“The president’s relatively low profile on the COVID response since the election is curious and counter to Mr Trump’s own interests,” he told the press.
Gostin, who has criticised Trump’s handling of the pandemic in the past, said he “deserves a great deal of credit” for Operation Warp Speed and placing a bet on two vaccines that use ground-breaking mRNA technology.
“Having exhibited leadership in the vaccines’ development, he should take great pride in publicly demonstrating his trust in COVID vaccines,” he said.
