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Admiral Brett Giroir, a top US health official overseeing the coronavirus testing, said he would encourage Donald Trump to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to boost confidence amongst people after a recent poll suggested that half of Republicans are not in favour of getting vaccinated.
“I think any leader who is influential over groups of individuals should have the vaccine,” Mr Giroir told ABC’s This Week.
“I would encourage the president to get a vaccine for his own health and safety, and also to generate more confidence among the people who follow him so closely,” he said.
According to a Gallop survey released this month, only 50 per cent of Republicans are willing to get inoculated as against 73 per cent of Democrats.
Mike Pence, who headed the Covid taskforce since February, received vaccination during a live broadcast on TV on Friday along with House speaker Nancy Pelosi, 80, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, 78.
Mr Trump, however, has not shown any enthusiasm to get vaccinated and is said to be delaying the inoculation as he is still “receiving the benefits” from an antibody cocktail he received during treatment for coronavirus in October.
However, Moncef Slaoui, the leader of Trump administration’s vaccine programme, on Sunday confirmed that people who were earlier infected with Covid can also receive the vaccine.
President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to get the jab publicly on Monday and former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama have also expressed interest in getting the vaccine on TV.
Mr Giroir added that the two vaccines – Moderna and Pfizer – are recommended for everyone as they are 95 per cent effective.
“And this is the way we end the pandemic, by getting 70% or 80% of the American people vaccinated,” he added.
Mr Trump, who has repeatedly spread misinformation about the vaccine and ditched masks in public events, is one of the only senior-most US officials who has not got the vaccine shot.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn earlier said that vaccine anxiety among people is a significant problem and majority of people need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.
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