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Second gentleman Doug Emhoff dropped by a vaccination clinic in D.C. on Friday to get a reformulated COVID-19 booster and his flu shot, hoping to drum up support for both campaigns ahead of the winter.
Donning an L.A. Dodgers cap, Mr. Emhoff got his Moderna booster and the flu shot in his left arm.
“That could not have been easier,” Mr. Emhoff said. “These vaccinations, they work, they’re safe, they’re free.”
Mr. Emhoff was joined by White House COVID-19 Coordinator Ashish Jha, who wore a Boston Red Sox cap and a T-shirt that said, “Vaccines Save Lives.”
Mr. Jha got both of his shots in his right arm.
The VIPs got their shots at a D.C. Health COVID Center to promote new COVID-19 boosters from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
Drugmakers revised the shot so they target both the original strain of the virus discovered in Wuhan, China, and the BA.4 and BA.5 variants that are dominant in the U.S.
Scientists and the Biden administration say fine-tuning the shots will help them hold up better against disease from the virus. They are using the occasion to promote flu shots, too, although most people will not seek those shots until late October.
The White House wants to stave off the type of surge in disease that COVID-19 brought in the past two winters, particularly if influenza wreaks havoc again after a relatively quiet two years.
Throughout the pandemic, President Biden and members of the administration have received their COVID-19 vaccines and boosters publicly with the hope it would remind Americans to get theirs or help them overcome any hesitancy.
“I think it reinforces the determination of those who are pretty committed and may help persuade some people who are hesitant. It can be referenced in conversations with their doctors and other health care providers,” said William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
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