3 Former Presidents Say They'll Receive COVID Vaccine on Camera
Three former U.S. presidents have thrown their hats in the ring for COVID vaccinations on camera to build confidence in the safety of the vaccine and to convince the American public to receive it.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have volunteered to receive the COVID-19 vaccine “in public and on-camera in a bid to boost shaky public confidence in the vaccines’ safety, which has been undermined by their speedy development and months of politicization on both sides of the aisle,” Forbes reported on Thursday.
“The three most recent former presidents hope an awareness campaign to promote confidence in its safety and effectiveness would be a powerful message as American public health officials try to convince the public to take the vaccine,” according to CNN.
“President Clinton will definitely take a vaccine as soon as available to him, based on the priorities determined by public health officials,” Clinton’s press secretary Angel Urena told the outlet.
“And he will do it in a public setting if it will help urge all Americans to do the same.
According to Freddy Ford, Bush’s chief of staff, Bush recently contacted Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, “to see how he could help promote the vaccine.”
Ford also told CNN Bush would “get in line for his, and will gladly do so on camera,” once the vaccine has been “deemed safe and administered to the priority populations.”
On SiriusXM’s “Urban View,” Obama told host Joe Madison, “what I don’t trust is getting COVID.”
“I promise you that when [the vaccine has] been made for people who are less at risk, I will be taking it,” Obama said.
“I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed, just so people know that I trust this science.”
Obama added that if Dr. Fauci said it would prevent “getting COVID, absolutely I’m going to take it.”
He claimed the appearance of H1N1 or “swine flu,” “was not as contagious and it turned out not to be as deadly as we thought it was or as COVID is.”
In response, he said no widespread vaccination program was needed, but a “pandemic playbook” was created to help “deal with” Ebola and a pandemic preparedness blueprint was given to President Donald Trump’s administration, which he said they “completely ignored.”
Obama also countered concerns about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study on African-Americans, “vaccines are why we don’t have polio anymore” and “why we don’t have a whole bunch of kids dying from measles, smallpox and diseases that used to decimate entire populations and communities.”
He maintained, “African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, we have the highest death rates from [COVID] and are most exposed and most vulnerable, in part because we have a lot of pre-existing conditions.”
Anti-vaxxers and skeptics challenged the former presidents on Twitter.
One cautioned, “Don’t be naive,” suggesting the potential of placebos.
Just because they getting a “VACCINE” doesn’t mean it’s the Covid-19 vaccine. Especially on camera. Don’t be naive.
— T.J. (@MixMamba35) December 3, 2020
Another claimed Obama may not be the best person to build confidence in the vaccine’s safety.
? Given that Obama already pretended to drink toxic water in Flint, not sure he’s the best person to demonstrate product safety.
— Goody Weaver Cavorting At The End of The World (@goodyweaver) December 3, 2020
A third called it a “slap in the face” to those injured by or deceased because of vaccines.
Horrible. One size doesn’t fit all. This is a slap in the face to everyone who has a loved one who died or was maimed from a vaccination. #wedid #hearthiswell #notrare
— Jennifer Borg (@JennyBK74) December 3, 2020
Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association recently warned with vaccine’s side effects, “is not going to be a walk in the park.”
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