President Joe Biden received his third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday, opting to get his booster shot on live television to encourage other Americans also eligible for the jab to get their shot.
“The bottom line is if you're fully vaccinated, you're highly protected now from severe illness, even if you get COVID-19,” Biden said from the White House early Monday afternoon. “But let me be clear, boosters are important, but the most important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated.”
Late last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky approved dual recommendations from a CDC panel to offer a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine for Americans 65 years of age and older and those living in long term care facilities, as well as for Americans 18 to 64 with underlying medical conditions that may put them at higher risk of severe disease.
Walensky also overruled the panel and recommended an extra dose of the Pfizer vaccine for people in high-risk professions, such as health care workers or teachers.
“I know it doesn't look like it, but I am over 65. Way over,” the president joked before rolling up his sleeves for the jab, adding: “And that's why I'm getting my booster shot today.”
The additional dose for approved groups will be administered at least six months after a person's last shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; President Biden received his second dose, also on live television, on Jan. 11, 2021.
Roughly 77% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine — but just 55% of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated against the virus, a far cry from where the administration hoped to be by the end of the summer.
“About 23% [of Americans] haven't gotten any shots, and that distinct minority is causing an awful lot of us, an awful lot of damage for the rest of the country,” Biden said. “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Biden on Monday said he will continue to move forward with vaccination requirements “wherever I can,” and previewed an upcoming trip to Chicago where he will “talk about why it's so important that more businesses are instituting their own vaccine requirements.”
The president recently issued a directive that will require businesses with 100-plus employees to vaccinate their workforce, or ensure employees submit to regular COVID-19 testing.
“We know that to beat this pandemic and to save lives, to keep our children safe, our schools open and our economy going, we need to get folks vaccinated,” the president said. “So please, please do the right thing. Please get the shots.”
The president also responded to criticism from world leaders, including those in the World Health Organization, that the United States should not give out booster shots to its own population until more people around the world had the opportunity to receive a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The United States is “doing more than every other nation in the world” to send out shipments of COVID vaccines, Biden said Monday. As of Sept. 26, the administration says it has provided 160 million vaccine doses to over 100 countries, many of which are part of the African Union.
The president wasn't the only prominent politician to receive their third dose of the vaccine Monday: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY., announced on the Senate floor that he also got a booster of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child, called himself "a lifelong champion of vaccinations" in remarks on the Senate floor and said it was "an easy decision" to get a booster.