Donald Trump nixing plan for early Covid-19 vaccine at White House
- US president reverses an administration directive to first vaccinate top government officials against Covid-19
- Initial shots to go to health care workers, elderly residents of long-term care homes
US President Donald Trump said that senior White House officials would wait longer for Covid-19 vaccines hours after media outlets reported senior officials were to receive doses within 10 days.
Late Sunday night, Trump said on Twitter he had asked for an “adjustment” to be made to the plans to vaccinate White House officials.
“People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the programme, unless specifically necessary,” Trump wrote, adding: “I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time.”
Reuters reported earlier Sunday that Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence and other top US officials would be offered the newly approved Covid-19 vaccine beginning on Monday as part of a plan aimed at ensuring continuity of government, a source familiar with the plan said.
Essential personnel at the White House and certain officials in all three branches of government were set to be vaccinated within the next 10 days, said the source.
Trump previously contracted the novel coronavirus and recovered. Many White House officials have already had Covid-19, potentially dampening their need for quick access to the vaccine.
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National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said before Trump’s tweet that senior officials in the executive branch, Congress and judiciary would receive vaccinations in line with a protocol aimed at ensuring the US government can continue to operate during a pandemic or catastrophic emergency.
“The American people should have confidence that they are receiving the same safe and effective vaccine as senior officials of the United States government on the advice of public health professionals and national security leadership,” Ullyot said in a statement.
It was also not clear whether President-elect Joe Biden, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris and other members of Biden’s transition team would be offered vaccinations.
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In September, Pence told the Hill newspaper: “The very moment that it’s appropriate for somebody in my category to get a vaccine, you better believe it. I, and my family, wouldn’t hesitate.”
A US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel on Saturday recommended the nation’s first Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, as the US Covid-19 death toll neared 300,000.
Doses of the vaccine were expected to reach 145 locations across the country on Monday, with initial shots to go to health care workers and elderly residents of long-term care homes.
Delivery trucks with special refrigeration equipment rolled out of a facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Sunday as part of a public-private plan to ship millions of doses.
Courier services FedEx and UPS have deployed fleets of trucks and planes to carry their precious cargo – sometimes under armed guard – to all 50 states.
“Vaccines are shipped and on their way,” Trump tweeted. “Get well USA. Get well WORLD.”
An initial 2.9 million doses are set to be delivered by Wednesday, with officials saying 20 million Americans could receive the two-shot regimen by year end, and 100 million by March.
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A survey from Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research found that about half of Americans want to get the vaccine as soon as possible. Another quarter aren’t sure, while the remaining quarter say they aren’t interested. Some simply oppose vaccines in general. Others are concerned that the vaccines have been rushed and want to see how the roll-out goes.
Dr Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the Pfizer vaccine Friday, has repeatedly insisted that the agency’s decision was based on science, not politics, despite a White House threat to fire him if the vaccine wasn’t approved before Saturday.
Speaking to Fox News, Dr Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, a US effort to get vaccines developed quickly, also said he is “very concerned” about the scepticism about the vaccine in some circles.
“Unfortunately … there’s been a confusion between how thorough and scientific and factual the work that has been done is, and the perception that people are thinking that we cut corners …,” Slaoui said. “I can guarantee you that no such things have happened, that we follow the science.”
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He called the development of vaccines from several pharmaceutical companies, including Moderna and AstraZeneca, “a remarkable achievement of science, academia, the industry ecosystem and the US government, working together”.
While the vaccine was determined to be safe, regulators in the UK are investigating several severe allergic reactions. The FDA’s instructions tell providers not to give it to those with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any of its ingredients.
The Moderna vaccine will be reviewed by an expert panel Thursday and soon afterward could be allowed for public use.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press
