[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – The exclusive club of former presidents – minus its most recently inducted member – is featured in two nationwide advertising campaigns released Thursday that aim to boost Americans’ confidence in coronavirus vaccines, according to copies of the videos provided to NBC News .
One of the spots, which lasts one minute, shows footage of former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as former First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. , during vaccination. .
“To get rid of this pandemic, it is important that our citizens get vaccinated,” said Bush, later adding, “So roll up your sleeve and do your part.”
The other, a 30-second video, features Clinton, Bush and Obama at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January, speaking outside at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Obama says vaccines are the “first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward.”
Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump are not part of the campaign. The Trumps were vaccinated before the former president stepped down in January. Trump has not allowed any official photos of him being vaccinated, a person familiar with the matter said, and he has shown no interest in being part of the elite club of his living predecessors.
Trump’s office declined to comment.
Clinton, Bush and Obama were quietly vaccinated weeks ago and offered the campaign footage facilitated by the Ad Council, an organization that coordinates public service announcements, and the COVID Collaborative, a panel of experts in health, education and economics, people familiar with the said effort. Clinton, Bush and Obama had offered in December to be vaccinated publicly once they were eligible. Carter’s office announced last month that he had been vaccinated.
The images were saved for release on Thursday, coinciding with Biden’s plans to mark a year since the country began shutting down due to the virus. The spots are expected to air on national and local television channels across the country and on digital and social media platforms.
The two PSAs, which are not affiliated with the Biden administration – they were developed by the Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative – begin with the presidents noting that Covid-19 vaccines are available for millions of people. ‘Americans and that they will be available soon. to everybody.
In the longer one, each of the presidents talks about what they want to get back to once the pandemic is under control. For Clinton, it’s “back to work” and “being able to move”. Obama says he wants to kiss his mother-in-law and see her on her birthday. And Bush says he can’t wait to go to opening day at a fully packed Texas Rangers stadium.
“This is our picture,” Clinton said after showing pictures of him and his wife being vaccinated.
“Now it’s your turn,” Carter adds as an image of him smiling and holding his vaccination record appears.
Former presidents stress that vaccines are safe and urge Americans to get vaccinated as soon as doses are available to them.
“The science is clear,” said Bush in 30 seconds. “These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease.”
“They could save your life,” Clinton adds.
The spots are not part of the White House’s long-awaited national campaign to tackle vaccine reluctance, which is expected to be unveiled this month, but once that effort is rolled out, former presidents could help the administration. to convince skeptical Americans that all three vaccines. available in the United States are safe, people familiar with the discussions said.
An Obama spokesperson, for example, said he “looks forward to publicly promoting the vaccine, drawing inspiration from the administration to know what would be most helpful and when.”
Officials in the Biden administration have said they are hesitant to roll out the campaign until vaccines are more available nationwide, a benchmark that appears to be drawing closer.
Biden, who said there would be enough vaccine doses for all eligible Americans by the end of May, was keen to announce that he received a vaccine vaccine during the transition, as did the vice -President Kamala Harris.
So far, the Biden administration has launched vaccine awareness efforts targeting specific communities that have been skeptical of vaccines. They include African Americans, Latinos, rural residents, and military families.
Trump’s absence from former presidents’ efforts disappointed some vaccine cheerleaders, given the high rate of reluctance among his supporters. Twenty-eight percent of Republicans say they “definitely won’t” be vaccinated, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Trump urged Americans to get vaccinated in recent remarks at a Republican conference, but he hasn’t made much of an effort.
Andy Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House Covid-19 response team, declined to say on Friday whether the administration had contacted Trump about vaccine awareness. “We’re happy everyone who’s taken the vaccine is talking about it, including him,” Slavitt said of Trump.
Former Vice President Mike Pence was vaccinated live in front of the media. His team made the video available for any future public service announcements, and “he would be happy to participate in other opportunities if asked,” a spokesperson said.
The administration’s vaccine confidence campaign should include a national message, coupled with detailed and targeted efforts aimed at those who are most vulnerable to the virus or who have a high prevalence of vaccine reluctance.
[ad_2]
Source link