In this Jan. 16, 2010, file photo President Barack Obama, center, walks out of the Oval Office of the White House with former Presidents Bill Clinton, left, and George W. Bush, right, to deliver remarks in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington. Three former presidents say they'd be willing to take a coronavirus vaccine publicly, once one becomes available, to encourage all Americans to get inoculated against a disease that has already killed more than 273,000 people nationwide. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
By Will Weissert
Three former presidents say they'd be willing to take a coronavirus vaccine publicly, once one becomes available, to encourage all Americans to get inoculated against a disease that has already killed more than 273,000 people nationwide.
Former President Barack Obama said during an episode of SiriusXM’s “The Joe Madison Show" airing Thursday, “I promise you that when it’s been made for people who are less at risk, I will be taking it.”
“I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed, just so that people know that I trust this science,” Obama added.
Obama undergoing immunization may not be possible for the foreseeable future, though. The Food and Drug Administration will consider authorizing emergency use of two vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna later this month, but current estimates project that no more than 20 million doses of each vaccine will be available by the end of this year. Each product also requires two doses, meaning shots will be rationed in the early stages.
Health care workers and nursing home residents should be at the front of the line, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an influential government advisory panel, said earlier this week. That encompasses about 24 million people out of a U.S. population of around 330 million.
Still, former President Bill Clinton would “definitely” be willing to get a vaccine, as soon as one is "available to him, based on the priorities determined by public health officials,” spokesman Angel Ureña said.
"And he will do it in a public setting if it will help urge all Americans to do the same,” Ureña said in a statement Thursday.
Ureña declined to answer a question on whether Clinton's team has been in touch with advisers to other former presidents about perhaps setting up a joint public immunization session whenever that might be possible.
Former President George W. Bush's chief of staff, Freddy Ford, told CNN that the former president asked him recently to meet with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, and Dr. Deborah Brix, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, to let them "know that, when the time is right, he wants to do what he can to help encourage his fellow citizens to get vaccinated.”
“First, the vaccines need to be deemed safe and administered to the priority populations," Ford told the network. "Then, President Bush will get in line for his, and will gladly do so on camera."
Ford did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.
The overlapping sentiments by three former presidents come as the U.S. recorded more than 3,100 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, obliterating the record set last spring. The number of Americans hospitalized with the virus has eclipsed 100,000 for the first time, and new cases have begun topping 200,000 a day, according to figures released Thursday.
President Donald Trump has said that he’ll get criticized no matter what he does on taking the vaccine — whether he’s first or last.
During the presidential campaign, Trump's reelection team tried to criticize challenger Joe Biden as being anti-vaccine. But the former vice president said months ago that he'd take “a vaccine tomorrow” if one became available.
Biden, now president-elect, hasn’t commented on the prospect of getting a vaccine publicly to inspire confidence. His transition team didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden warned on Wednesday that the spread of the coronavirus pandemic over the next two months could kill at many as 250,000 more people, though he didn't offer details to back up his assessment, which is far bleaker than projections by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We’re likely to lose another 250,000 people dead between now and January,” Biden said.
Speaking to the broader public, he added: "You cannot be traveling during these holidays, as much as you want to.”
Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning his comeback. According to the Wall Street Journal, the former New York governor and his aides are considering how to make his first public appearance since he abruptly resigned last August amid sexual harassment allegations. Jake Lahut, politics reporter for Insider, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Cuomo's potential return to politics.
The pressure is on for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson - after his closest aides handed in their resignations this week.
It comes after a report found that 16 parties had taken place at Downing Street while Covid lockdown protocols were in place in the region. Ari Aramesh, Attorney & National Security/Foreign Policy Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has ordered about 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as Russia refuses to back off its pressure on Ukraine. The deployments to Poland, Germany, and Romania are a show of support to NATO allies concerned about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is in addition to the 8,500 troops put on high alert. David Tafuri, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former State Department official, joined Cheddar to discuss what this move means for U.S.-Russia relations.
After tennis player Peng Shuai made an explicit sexual assault allegation toward a former Chinese government official, she disappeared from the public eye. Her recent reappearance with the IOC alongside a Chinese Olympic committee official raised eyebrows and renewed concerns for her safety. Asian affairs expert Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Peng Shuai's retraction and the various human rights controversies swirling at the Beijing games. "It's clear that the IOC was working with Beijing to make sure that she did not express herself freely," Chang said. "So really this is the IOC being complicit in these mechanisms of control over Peng."
The opening ceremony of the 2022 winter Olympics has kicked off at the Beijing national stadium. 150,000 spectators are in attendance for the games inside the 'closed loop' system separating Olympic personnel from the public. Cheddar News spoke with Brian Cazenueve, Sports Illustrated contributor, to share the highlights you may have missed and much more.
The Biden Administration is set to revise federal rules to address potential security risks from foreign-owned apps, mainly Tiktok. This comes after the White House opted not to pursue a forced shutdown of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform. Under these new rules, federal oversight would be expanded to explicitly include apps that could be used by foreign adversaries to steal or otherwise obtain data. Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Craig Singleton, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Although this week's weather is predicted to be less severe than the 2021 storm, Texans are preparing for the worst - stocking up on supplies and emptying shelves in grocery stores, once again. Some Texans still have not recovered from last year's tragedy, and are heading into the next few weeks with anxiety for what's to come. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Houston-based energy workforce & technology council, joins Cheddar News to discuss if the Texas grid will fail again.
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
After two NYPD officers were killed with an illegal gun, President Biden made a trip to New York City to speak on the issue of gun violence fed by the "iron pipeline" of illegal firearms that make their way from the South to the Big Apple. Kris Brown, the president of the gun violence prevention organization Brady United, joined Cheddar to discuss what this visit from the president could mean for the future of gun laws in America. "He's asked Congress to pass things like expanding the Brady background check system, but with the filibuster a barrier to so much action right now in the Congress, he's looking at solutions that involve funding at the federal level and really involve enforcement."
