President-elect Joe Biden joined former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in committing to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine publicly to boost the public's trust in it.
Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will also get the vaccine publicly. President-elect Biden said to The Hill: "People have lost faith in the vaccine's ability to work. Already the numbers are staggeringly low, and it matters what a president and vice president do. I think that my three predecessors have set the model as to what should be done, saying, 'Once it's declared to be safe ... then obviously, we take it.'" Read more.
Here are four other updates:
1. President-elect Joe Biden appointed Xavier Becerra to serve as HHS secretary, Rochelle Walensky, MD, to serve as director of the CDC and Vivek Murthy, MD, to serve as surgeon general. Read more on Mr. Becerra, Dr. Walensky and Dr. Murthy.
2. Pfizer and Moderna did not attend the White House's Dec. 8 "vaccine summit." The summit featured federal health officials and representatives of companies involved in the vaccine's distribution. White House administrators said because the event featured regulators discussing the vaccine, it wouldn't be appropriate for the drugmakers to attend. Read more.
3. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, claimed the Trump administration declined to buy more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer. The administration purchased 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate in July. If approved by the FDA, Pfizer will deliver the vaccine in March. The administration denied Dr. Gottlieb's claim. Read more.
4. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Dec. 8, designed to ensure the COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered to the U.S. before it is delivered to other nations. The Hill reported that specifics of the order are currently unclear. Read more.