
Pence, Wife Karen, Surgeon General get COVID-19 Vaccines
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was vaccinated for COVID-19 on Friday in a live-television event aimed at reassuring Americans the vaccine is safe.
In remarks after his shot, Pence called the speed with which the vaccine was developed โa medical miracle.โ
โThe American people can be confident: we have one and perhaps within hours twoโ safe vaccines,โ Pence said, referring to expected FDA approval for Modernaโs vaccine. Pfizer-BioNTechโs vaccine was the first to be approved. โBuilding confidence in the vaccine is what brings us here this morning,โ he added.
Penceโs wife Karen and Surgeon General Jerome Adams also received shots during the televised White House event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Adams, who is Black, emphasized the โthe importance of representationโ in outreach to at-risk communities and encouraged Americans to avoid disinformation around the vaccines.
Pence, the highest profile official yet to receive the vaccine, has taken an increasingly visible role in selling the vaccine, as President Donald Trump has taken a step back.
Trumpโs administration helped deliver vaccinations against the coronavirus earlier than even some in his administration thought possible, launching Operation Warp Speed — the government campaign to help swiftly develop and distribute vaccines — this spring with great fanfare in the White House Rose Garden.
Yet five days into the largest vaccination campaign in the nationโs history, Trump has held no public events to trumpet the rollout. He hasnโt been inoculated himself. He has tweeted only twice about the shot. Pence, meanwhile, has taken center stage — touring a vaccine production facility this week and receiving a dose himself on live television. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both said Thursday that they will get vaccinated in the next few days.
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Trumpโs relative silence comes as he continues to stew about his defeat in the Nov. 3 election and embraces increasingly extreme efforts to overturn the peopleโs will. Heโs pushed aside the plans of aides who wanted him to be the public face of the vaccination campaign, eschewing visits to labs and production facilities to thank workers, or hosting efforts to build public confidence in the shot, according to people familiar with the conversations.
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.
โThe Presidentโs relatively low profile on the COVID response since the election is curious and counter to Mr. Trumpโs own interests,โ he said. Gostin, who has criticized Trumpโs handling of the pandemic in the past, said that he โdeserves a great deal of creditโ for Operation Warp Speed and placing a bet on two vaccines that use groundbreaking mRNA technology.
โHaving exhibited leadership in the vaccinesโ development, he should take great pride in publicly demonstrating his trust in COVID vaccines,โ he said.
Trump did appear at a White House โsummitโ ahead of the Food and Drug Administrationโs approval of the Pfizer vaccine last week. That event included an introductory video highlighting the past comments of those — including top government infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci — who doubted a shot would be ready this year.