Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are volunteering to get their COVID-19 vaccines on camera to promote public confidence in the vaccine’s safety once the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes one, writes CNN.
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.
Freddy Ford, Bush’s chief of staff, told CNN that the 43rd President had reached out to Dr. Anthony Fauci - the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation’s top infectious disease expert - and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, to see how he could help promote the vaccine.
Clinton’s press secretary told CNN on Wednesday that he too would be willing to take the vaccine in a public setting in order to promote it.
Obama, in an interview with SiriusXM host Joe Madison scheduled to air Thursday, said that if Fauci said a coronavirus vaccine is safe, he believes him.