President-elect Joe Biden coughed his way through a 13-minute victory speech Monday night.
This incident, his age, and the medical miracles of recent days raise the question: why hasn’t Biden received a COVID-19 vaccine yet?
The last thing our nation needs is a health crisis for the president-elect during the lame-duck session.
As a friend noted today, “It’s sheer insanity to wait now that a vaccine’s available. Biden is already tempting fate as a senior citizen who’s frequently meeting with people when the virus, as we’re told, has never been worse. Why he’d risk even another hour unprotected is beyond me.”
Biden recently said he would get vaccinated before Inauguration Day — still five long weeks away — whenever Dr. Anthony Fauci gives him the green light.
Well, Fauci said Tuesday on “Good Morning America” Biden should do so right away. He also recommended Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a vaccine skeptic, receive the shot. Fauci believes it’s important for Biden to be “fully protected” from the virus when he takes office.
“This is a person who very soon will be the president of the United States,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 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.”
Biden was asked Tuesday morning by reporters about Fauci’s comments, and said he’ll get vaccinated “sooner than later.”
Since high-risk populations, including health care workers and residents at long-term care facilities, are among the first to receive the vaccine, it’s unlikely Biden or Harris would be among the first to be vaccinated — if not for their status.
This tool shows Biden would be in line behind roughly 120 million people and Harris would go after more than 270 million Americans.
The first COVID vaccine for emergency use were administered Monday. Pfizer is expected to deliver roughly 3 million doses across the U.S. in the coming days. Moderna’s vaccine, which has an efficacy of more than 94%, will likely be recommended for authorization later this week.
Update: Incoming press secretary Jen Psaki reported Friday that Biden and his wife, Jill, will receive their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Monday.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
