Andy Slavitt, chief White House adviser on Covid’s response, predicted that more and more Americans would continue to get the Covid vaccine because of messages and evidence from trusted sources.
“In Israel, where they are a little ahead of us, 89% of the elderly have chosen to get the vaccine,” Slavitt said. “We believe we can reach these types of numbers if we continue to reliably answer people’s questions, because they are very good, safe, effective vaccines.”
About 37% of people over the age of 65 in the United States have been completely vaccinated, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. States have administered about 17 million photos in the last week alone.
To further facilitate the distribution of the vaccine, the Biden administration has announced that it will launch a nationwide vaccine availability website, which will serve as a link to the multitude of vaccination registration websites in states, pharmacies and other companies.
Slavitt told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that “the idea is if you enter the zip code, it will show you on a map, all the places near you that claim to have vaccines.” He added that streamlining the process will not only reduce widespread frustration but also the hesitation of the vaccine.
Host Shepard Smith insisted Slavitt on his comments on vaccine passports. At a White House press briefing on Monday, Slavitt said vaccine passports should be free, private and secure, however, “it is not the government’s job to have this data and do it.”
Slavitt said Tuesday night that a government vaccine passport effort could lead some Americans to believe the government is too involved, especially in collecting data that would be needed for a vaccine passport. This resistance, he said, would be counterproductive to the overall vaccination effort.
“We think the public will be more reluctant to get vaccinated if they feel like the government, the federal government is playing too much of a role in that,” Slavitt said.