President Biden’s administration is ramping up efforts to vaccinate White House staff against COVID-19, already administering vaccines to hundreds of staffers, with plans in the works to vaccinate all staff in the next few weeks.
“The White House medical team has vaccinated several hundred additional staffers from the Executive Office of the President who are working on site every day … to ensure a COVID-safe working environment around the president and key leaders who have national security and continuity of government responsibilities,” White House spokesman Kevin Munoz told Axios.
The move to vaccinate as many staffers as possible comes after “approximately three dozen incoming members of the senior staff, national security team, and incoming Cabinet nominees received their first dose in early January,” Munoz said.
The Biden White House vaccination plan is a reversal from that of President Donald Trump, who slowed plans to administer vaccines to White House staff “unless specifically necessary.”
“People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary. I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. Thank you!” Trump said in a mid-December tweet.
Trump’s office did not immediately respond to a Washington Examiner request for comment on how many staffers were eventually vaccinated.
Biden’s White House staffers that work in-person daily will also be required to take daily COVID-19 tests and wear N95 masks at all times, according to internal emails obtained by Axios.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Washington Examiner request for comment on the risk profiles of the staffers gaining access to the vaccine.
