In this Jan. 20, 2021, file photo former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura and former President Bill Clinton and his wife former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stand at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery during Inauguration Day ceremonies in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
By Zeke Miller
Four former presidents are urging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as COVID-19 doses are available to them, as part of a campaign to overcome hesitancy about the shots.
Two public service announcements from the Ad Council and the business-supported COVID Collaborative feature Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter as well as first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Rosalynn Carter. All of them have received doses of the COVID-19 vaccines.
In a 60-second spot, the former presidents say what they're most looking forward to once the pandemic ends.
Clinton, 74, says he wants to “go back to work and I want to be able to move around." Obama, 59, says he wants to be able to visit with his mother-in-law, “to hug her, and see her on her birthday.” Bush, 74, talks about “going to opening day in Texas Rangers stadium with a full stadium.”
Carter, 96, says he got vaccinated to help end the pandemic “as soon as possible.”
The video features photos of the former presidents and their spouses with syringes in their upper arms as they urge Americans to “roll up your sleeve and do your part” by getting vaccinated.
A separate 30-second ad was filmed hours after President Joe Biden's inauguration at Arlington National Cemetery. It features Bush, Obama and Clinton encouraging vaccinations.
“The science is clear,” Bush says. “These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease.” Obama calls them, the “first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward.”
Former President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, do not appear in the campaign. Trump was still in office when the ex-presidents' project began in December, according to the Ad Council, and he did not attend President Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, when Obama, Bush and Clinton gathered together in person to film. A Trump adviser revealed last week that the Trumps were vaccinated in private before leaving the White House on Inauguration Day.
The ad campaign comes as U.S. supply of the coronavirus vaccines continues to ramp up and as public health experts worry that some Americans may choose not to get vaccinated, which would slow the country's path toward “herd immunity" to the virus.
The “It's Up to You” campaign encourages Americans to visit www.GetVaccineAnswers.org to get the facts about the vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also involved in the education initiative.
___
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
President Biden and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell meet at the White House today for the first time since Powell's renomination to the position. The President and the Fed Chair discussed the economy and historically high inflation, as new data shows inflation may be cooling slightly. Morning Consult economic analyst Jesse Wheeler joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss how the Biden administration at the U.S. central bank can work together to combat soaring prices for American consumers.
In the second part of Cheddar's talk with Governor Asa Hutchinson, the Republican from Arkansas discussed his state's abortion trigger law and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Texas law that would prevent social media platform moderation currently being held up by the U.S. Supreme Court, and rumors of his 2024 presidential run. "I did go to New Hampshire. I am testing the waters out there, so no decision at this point. But we're looking at it," he said, noting that if former President Donald Trump runs, it would not affect his own decision.
Cheddar Politics looks at the ongoing efforts to pass meaningful gun safety laws in both Chambers of Congress following multiple mass shootings. Lisa Hagen, senior political reporter for U.S. News and World Report, helps break down why Senators are hopeful that a modest bipartisan gun safety package might be able to overcome a filibuster.
Join Cheddar News as we break down the top headlines this morning including updates on the Tulsa medical center shooting, Johnny Depp V. Amber Heard verdict, and Democrats push for gun control reform.
After two subway shootings in two months and the more recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, Mayor Eric Adams is calling for gun detection scanners to be installed in New York City subways. The tech would be similar to that used in sporting arenas, however, experts note multiple difficulties with such a setup including the need for nearby human operators.
Catching you up on what you need to know on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, House lawmakers hold an emergency hearing on gun control measures in the wake of the Uvalde shooting, the Supreme Court temporarily blocks Texas' law stopping social media moderation, and the James Webb Space Telescope gets a new mission.
With the baby formula in the United States surging to an out-of-stock rate of 70 percent, the FDA has given Abbott permission to reopen its Michigan plant amid the crisis and authorized foreign imports. Professor Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner and current president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ongoing shortage and its wide impact. “As difficult as things is in urban areas, they’re even worse in small communities and tribal areas where parents can't just go to the next store on the corner," he said. Pitts also noted that the Abbott factory was a "disaster" prior to its shutdown and that it would have been "regulatory malpractice" to have left it open.
Cheddar's Megan Pratz reports from the ground in Uvalde, Texas where the community's grief and frustration with lawmakers and police officers grows as more details emerge.
