Fauci says Biden and Harris should get COVID vaccine ‘as soon as we possibly can’
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, recommends President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris take the coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.
Biden said earlier this month on CNN that said he would get vaccinated against the virus in a public setting before his Jan. 20, 2021, Inauguration Day when Fauci gives him the green light to get the shot.
Fauci said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” he should do so right away.
“This is a person who very soon will be the president of the United States,” he said. “Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will very soon be the vice president of the United States. For security reasons, I really feel strongly that we should get them vaccinated as soon as we possibly can.”
He said it’s important that Biden be “fully protected” from the virus when he takes office.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last week authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the United States, and the first doses were administered Monday.
Drugmaker Pfizer is expected to deliver roughly 2.9 million doses across the U.S. in the coming week. The shot, which requires two doses, had an efficacy rate of 95% during trials.
Moderna has also applied for emergency use authorization from the FDA. Its vaccine, which has an efficacy of more than 94% and also requires two doses, will likely be recommended for authorization on Dec. 17.
Both companies have said no serious health concerns were found during their trials.
High-risk populations, including health care workers and residents at long-term care facilities, will be among the first to receive the vaccine. Doses will likely be widely available to the public by late spring or early summer.
If not for their status as incoming world leaders, it’s unlikely Biden or Harris would be among the first to be vaccinated, according to a tool from The New York Times that estimates one’s place in line to get the vaccine based on age, location and other risk-related information.
Assuming they don’t have other health issues that would put them at a higher risk, Biden would be in line behind roughly 118.5 million people in the U.S. and 237,200 in Washington, D.C., and Harris would be behind roughly 268.7 million in the U.S. and 560,400 in D.C., the tool shows.
Fauci also recommended that President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence get the vaccine.
“You still want to protect people who are very important to our country right now,” he said on “Good Morning America.” “Even though the president himself was infected and he has likely antibodies that likely would be protective, we’re not sure how long that protection lasts so to be doubly sure, I would recommend that he get vaccinated as well the vice president.”
Trump and Pence would also not likely be among the first to be vaccinated if not for their roles.
The New York Times tool estimates Trump would be behind 118.5 million people in U.S. and 237,200 in D.C. and that Pence would be behind 286.7 million in U.S. and 560,400 in D.C.
Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 after he and others in his administration tested positive for the virus following a September nomination ceremony for now-Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the White House Rose Garden.
Others in the president’s inner circle have tested positive in recent weeks, including Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney who had lead his campaign’s efforts to challenge the election outcome.
Trump has said he’ll get vaccinated “at the appropriate time,” Axios reports. Earlier this week, he scrapped a plan to prioritize White House staff for vaccination.
Fauci previously told Axios that between 75% and 80% of Americans need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity from the virus.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Monday found about 40% of respondents would get the vaccine as soon as it’s available to them and another 44% would “wait a bit.” More than 15% said they would not take the vaccine at any point.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Fauci says Biden and Harris should get COVID vaccine ‘as soon as we possibly can’."
