Updated: December 6, 2020 7:18:50 pm
The three most recent former US presidents, Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, have all volunteered to receive their Covid-19 vaccines in front of the camera. (AP)
Three former presidents of the United States have said they are willing to get vaccinated against the new coronavirus on television to allay the fears of Americans who doubt the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.
The former presidents launched their awareness campaign less than a week before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) meets to decide whether to authorize a Covid-19 vaccine produced by biopharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNtech.
With the United States consistently reporting the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the world, a viable coronavirus vaccine is integral to reigning in the devastating impact of the pandemic. However, the widespread skepticism about vaccines in the US is proving to be another setback for public health officials and political leaders.
Who are the presidents of the United States who have volunteered to take the vaccine publicly?
The three most recent former US presidents – Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton – have all volunteered to receive their Covid-19 vaccines in front of the camera. With this movement they hope to raise awareness about the vaccine and promote confidence in its safety and efficacy.
Obama said he would take the vaccine once it was approved by the nation’s regulators and leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. “I promise you, when it’s made for people who are less risky, I’ll take it,” he said in an interview on SiriusXM’s ‘The Joe Madison Show’ earlier this week.
Obama, who served as the 44th president of the United States before Donald Trump, is not known for suffering any serious health risks. “I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed, just so people know that I trust this science and what I don’t trust is getting Covid,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bush’s chief of staff, Freddy Ford, told CNN that the 74-year-old former president is also open to being vaccinated before the public. “A few weeks ago, President Bush asked me to let Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx know that, when the time is right, he wants to do what he can to help encourage his fellow citizens to get vaccinated,” he told CNN.
On Wednesday, Clinton’s press secretary told CNN that he too would be willing to be filmed while getting vaccinated against the disease. “President Clinton will definitely take a vaccine as soon as it is available to him, based on priorities determined by public health officials,” said his spokesman Ángel Ureña. “And it will do so in a public setting if it helps to urge all Americans to do the same.”
Why are they doing this?
The main goal of his campaign is to raise awareness about the Covid-19 vaccine and encourage all Americans to get vaccinated against the disease. 📣 Follow Express explained on Telegram
With more than 14.5 million people testing positive for the infection and more than 281,000 succumbing to it, the United States has the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the world. While a vaccine may seem like the obvious solution to reducing the number of cases and deaths reported in the country, thousands of Americans remain skeptical.
In fact, a recent Gallup poll showed that about 42 percent of the country would not be willing to receive the vaccine, even if it were “available right now at no cost.” However, this marks a slight improvement over a survey conducted in September, where 50 percent said they were not open to the idea of getting vaccinated.
According to the Gallup poll, Democrats currently show the biggest increase in willingness to get vaccinated, but the gap between Democrats and Republicans on the issue has narrowed over the months.
At least 37 percent of the Americans who were interviewed said they would not receive a vaccine simply because they felt the timeline for its development was rushed. About 26 percent said they wanted to wait until they knew for sure that the vaccine was safe. Several also cited a distrust of vaccines in general.
According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in September, African Americans were the least likely to say that they would definitely receive a vaccine for Covid if it were available today. Studies show that their reluctance to get vaccinated is possibly due to the long history of racial inequity in the American healthcare system.
But Dr. Fauci and his ilk repeatedly called for a more diverse representation of the population in clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines, particularly due to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on non-white communities. In fact, enrollment in Moderna’s clinical trial slowed briefly after a lack of black, Latino, and Native American participants was noted. Pfizer also expanded its essay to make it more racially diverse.
How likely are they to get vaccinated in the near future?
It is highly unlikely that all three presidents will be vaccinated in the foreseeable future, AP reported. Even if the FDA approves the Covid vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna for emergency use, current estimates project that only about 20 million doses of each vaccine will be available by the end of the year.
In the initial stages of inoculation, health care workers and nursing home residents should be prioritized, according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a leading government advisory panel. That alone represents about 24 million of the total US population of about 330 million, according to an AP report.
Who are the other world leaders who have volunteered to take the vaccine publicly?
To quell public distrust of a Covid-19 vaccine, several world leaders and senior officials have said that they will take the vaccine in a public place. US President-elect Joe Biden has said he will be happy to join former presidents in getting the vaccine in public to show that it is safe.
“When Dr. Fauci says that we have a vaccine that is safe, that is the moment when I will be before the public,” he said in an interview with CNN. “It matters what a president and vice president do. I think my three predecessors have set the standard for what to do. “
The director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has also said that he will take the vaccine in front of the camera if it helps build public trust. “I would love to do the same, but at the same time, I also need to make sure it is my turn because I don’t want to vaccinate anyone,” he said earlier this week.
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