WASHINGTON (AP) – The leader of the Trump administration’s vaccination program says people infected with the coronavirus – a group that includes President Donald Trump – should get the vaccine.
Moncef Slaoui, Operation Warp Speed’s chief adviser, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the vaccine is safe for those who have recovered and offers stronger and possibly longer protection than the virus itself.
“We know that an infection does not elicit a very strong immune response and diminishes over time. So I think as a clear precautionary measure it is appropriate to get vaccinated because it is safe, ”he said. “I think people should indeed be vaccinated.”
Trump is now one of the only most senior U.S. officials not to receive the first of two vaccinations shots administered last week as part of the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history. Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., All got a dose Friday. President-elect Joe Biden was due to receive his Monday.
All have chosen to publicize their injections as part of a campaign to convince a skeptical public that the vaccines are safe and effective, in hopes of finally ending a pandemic that affects more than 317,000 people in the United States. United States has killed and turned life around on its head. the globe.
Trump, who has spread misinformation about vaccine risks in the past, tweeted earlier this month that he was “not scheduled” to take the vaccine, but was looking forward to doing so at the right time. The White House says he is still discussing timing with his doctors.
Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October and received experimental monoclonal antibody treatment that he said would have triggered his speedy recovery.
An advisory board from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that people who have received that treatment should wait at least 90 days to get vaccinated to avoid potential interference.
“When the time is right, I’m sure he will remain willing to take it,” White House spokesman Brian Morgenstern reiterated Friday. “It’s just something we’re working on.”
Trump has largely remained out of sight for the past week as he continues to stumble over his election loss, driving increasingly bizarre plans to stay in power. It’s an approach that has baffled top aides who see his silence as a missed opportunity for the president, who will step down on January 20, to take credit for overseeing the vaccine’s rapid development and burning his legacy. .
Trump has also been criticized for failing to take the vaccine itself as an example to allay concerns about its safety, especially among Republicans.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was first cleared, is’ safe and likely to be effective ‘in people infected with COVID-19 and’ should be offered regardless of history of previous symptomatic or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection . ”
While there is no recommended minimum waiting time between infection and vaccination, because reinfection is uncommon in the three months after a person is infected, the committee said people who tested positive in the previous 90 days “ can delay vaccination until the end of this period. . , if desired.”
But the advisers also advised that those who received the kind of treatment Trump did should delay their vaccination for at least 90 days.
“Currently, there is no data on the safety and efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination in subjects who have received monoclonal antibodies or restorative plasma as part of COVID-19 treatment,” they wrote., which recommends that vaccination be “delayed by at least 90 days as a precautionary measure until additional information becomes available, to avoid interference of antibody treatment with vaccine-induced immune responses”.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams quoted that recommendation on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday when asked if Trump intended to receive the recording on camera.
“From a scientific standpoint, I will remind people that the President has had COVID for the past 90 days. He received the monoclonal antibodies. And that’s basically a scenario where we tell people that you might have to wait to get the vaccine, talk to your healthcare provider to find the right time, ”said Adams.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has provided other explanations for the delay. She told reporters last week that Trump was partially waiting “to show Americans that our priority is the most vulnerable.”
“The president wants to send a parallel message: you know, our long-term care residents and our frontline workers are of the utmost importance, and he wants to set an example in that regard,” she said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is among those who recommended that Trump be vaccinated immediately.
Even though the president himself was infected and he probably has antibodies that would likely be protective, we’re not sure how long that protection lasts. So to be doubly sure, I would recommend that he get vaccinated, ”he told ABC News.