Biden: The Most Patriotic Thing To Do Now Is To Get Vaccinated
"We’ll be ready with supply" when the FDA approves vaccines for children, White House COVID advisor says
President Biden and members of his administration chose to devote their first observance of Independence Day a theme dedicated to vaccination and moving forward past the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Thanks to our heroic vaccine efforts, we've gained the upper hand against this virus. We can live our lives, our kids can go back to school, our economy is roaring back. Don't get me wrong, COVID-19 has not been vanquished. We all know powerful variants have emerged like the Delta variant. But the best defense against these variants: Get vaccinated,” Biden said to cheering and applause during a July 4 speech at the US Military Academy at West Point. “My fellow Americans, it's the most patriotic thing you can do, so please, if you have not gotten vaccinated, do it, do it now.
“For yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, and for your country. You know, that's how we’ll stay ahead of these variants and protect the hard-won progress we've made. We never again want to be where we were a year ago today,” Biden added.
The president's top advisors on the pandemic appeared in various Sunday talk show television appearances to emphasize particulars.
Individuals who have been vaccinated are less likely to transmit COVID-19 if they become infected, said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"I mean, if you're looking at studies that are being done, we will get the answer to that because we are looking at situations where you have vaccinated people who have breakthrough infections. Namely they're infected despite the fact that they've been vaccinated. Most of these people will be without symptoms,” Fauci said. “If you look at the level of virus in their nasopharynx, it appears to be significantly less than individuals who are unvaccinated, who get infected and who have asymptomatic infection.
“So when you look at the level of virus to be lower, that would mean you could make a reasonable assumption that those individuals would be less likely to transmit the infection to someone else,” Fauci added. “Vaccinated person, breakthrough infection unlikely. But it's not going to be zero, because whenever you have biological phenomena, there's always a range. But for the most part, it would be less likely."
Continued mask wearing
Fauci also recommended continued mask-wearing in places — like Mississippi — where vaccination rates are lagging behind.
“I think there would be good reason to do that. I mean, because as we've said so often, that vaccines are not, even as good as they are and highly effective, nothing is 100 percent,” he said. “And if you put yourself in an environment in which you have a high level of viral dynamics and a very low level of vaccine, you might want to go the extra step and say, 'When I'm in that area where there's a considerable degree of viral circulation, I might want to go the extra mile to be cautious enough to make sure that I get the extra added level of protection, even though the vaccines themselves are highly effective.'"
Meanwhile, Biden's White House Coronavirus response coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, assured Americans that there would be a plentiful supply of vaccine for children available once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) begins approving them for general use.
“I am not going to get ahead of the FDA, we’ll look at the FDA to make a decision on timing. We’ll be ready with supply so that once or if the FDA authorizes vaccine for children, we are ready to have the supply to help state and local officials and pediatricians apply those shots in arms,” Zients said.