Three former presidents say they would commit to taking the coronavirus vaccine publicly, hoping millions of others will follow their lead.
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush said they would take the vaccine, following Barack Obama’s comments that he would absolutely take it. Obama said he might get vaccinated on TV to help provide confidence in its safety, as some may be skeptical of its effectiveness or ability to prevent the coronavirus, which has infected more than 14 million people in the country.
“I promise you that when it’s been made for people who are less at risk, I will be taking it. And I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed just so people know that I trust this science,” Obama said Wednesday on SiriusXM’s The Joe Madison Show.
The Washington Examiner reached out to all three former presidents’ spokespeople.
Freddy Ford, Bush’s chief of staff, said the former president reached out to Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force to see how he could help promote the vaccine.
“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,” Ford told CNN. “First, the vaccines need to be deemed safe and administered to the priority populations. Then, President Bush will get in line for his, and will gladly do so on camera.”
A spokesperson for Clinton confirmed the 42nd president would also take the vaccine publicly.
“President Clinton will definitely take a vaccine as soon as it’s available to him, based on the priorities determined by public health officials,” the spokesperson said. “And he will do it in a public setting if it will help urge all Americans to do the same.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House to see if President Trump would also take the same pledge.
The president’s daughter and White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump commended the promise by the three ex-presidents and said she’d be willing to do the same.
I applaud these pronouncements to help assure the public that the vaccine is safe and effective.
My offer holds to do the same. https://t.co/CXswL8eaWg
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) December 3, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden previously said he would consider a mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine during a town hall in October. However, Biden acknowledged he might not have the authority to push such a mandate on the country and instead encouraged state and local officials to ask the public to take the vaccine on their own.
He said he would do the same, as long as scientific experts found the vaccine was safe.
“The point is that if the scientists, if the body of scientists say that this is what is ready to be done and it’s been tested, they’ve gone through the three phases, yes, I would take it, and I’d encourage people to take it,” Biden said.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Biden transition team for further comment.
Trump has long touted the speed of vaccine development as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic that’s been present in the U.S. for almost a year.
Pharmaceutical companies are in the midst of getting a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration before the end of the year. Earlier this month, Pfizer and Moderna both announced that they had vaccine candidates that are reported to be 95% effective in preventing the coronavirus.
The speed of the development has prompted some skepticism in the vaccine’s safety, though public health officials have been working to ensure confidence in the public regarding the vaccine.
Fauci said he trusted the institutions working on the vaccine enough to take it himself and encouraged those close to him to do the same.
“I trust Pfizer. I trust the FDA. These are colleagues of mine for decades, the career scientists,” Fauci said. “If they look at this data and they say this data is solid, let’s go ahead and approve it. … I will take the vaccine, and I will recommend that my family take the vaccine.”
The administration is aiming to get the vaccine out to the broader public by next spring.
