US official urges Trump to get COVID-19 vaccine to 'generate more confidence' in public

Admiral Brett Giroir, a top US health official overseeing coronavirus testing has said that he would encourage outgoing President Donald Trump to get vaccinated in an attempt to bolster people’s confidence in the jab.

World leaders and top diplomats including Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and US vice president Mike Pence got their vaccination broadcasted live on television to encourage people to get inoculated. Interestingly, Trump, last week announced that White House members would get the vaccine 'later' in the process, despite a recent poll that testified Republicans mistrust towards the jab.

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'Should take the vaccine'

Speaking at an interview with ABC network, Giroir asserted that any leader who has an influence over groups of individuals should have the vaccine. Speaking further, the US health official said that he would urge Trump to get the COVID-19 vaccine jab for his "own health and safety" and also to generate more confidence among people who follow him closely.

Trump has expressed no interest in getting the vaccine and has reiterated that he was still deriving benefit out of an antibody cocktail that he received during his coronavirus treatment.

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In contrast, his opponent Joe Biden and other Democrat leaders including former US Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama have shown zeal towards getting the shot. As per a Gallop survey released earlier this month, only 50 percent of Republicans are willing to get inoculated as compared to 73 percent of Democrats. 

This comes as the first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine left a distribution centre in the US on December 20, in a desperate move to curb the spread of COVID-19. The much-needed shots are expected to be administered starting December 23, just three days after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised their emergency use. United States started its ambitious mass inoculation programme on December 14 and is the only nation to authorise two vaccine candidates.

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