By Sabine Ebanks, Y11
As the distribution of the vaccine against COVID-19 kicks off, many politicians and celebrities from around the world have received their first doses on television to help quell fears around its safety.
Three former American presidents: Barack Obama, George Bush, and Bill Clinton have all agreed to get the vaccine for COVID-19 on-camera. The move comes amid concerns that some individuals may choose not to get the vaccine, and aims to show three well-known and trusted figures from different political parties all expressing confidence in its efficacy.
This comes on the heels of various other major public figures in the United States agreeing to be vaccinated in public, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top immunologist who has become a familiar face to many Americans during the pandemic. Dr. Fauci received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine on live television and described his decision “as a symbol to the rest of the country that I feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine.”
In another symbolic move, US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris both received the vaccine separately on live T.V. On December 21st, Biden said “I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about” Donald Trump, the current president, has notably not been vaccinated, although his medical team claims he is still protected by treatments he received after contracting the virus in October 2020.
US President-elect Joe Biden receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on December 21st, 2020
Carolyn Kaster/AP
The message from top officials so far has been similar: the vaccine is safe, effective, and a key part of the efforts to end the pandemic. About half of Americans polled have shown to be resistant to the vaccine, underscoring the importance of a positive publicity campaign. (In comparison, 53% of Swiss residents surveyed said they did not yet want to be vaccinated.) In a time of widespread disinformation, particularly surrounding the pandemic, the importance of receiving the vaccine on live TV cannot be overstated. Additionally, many medical experts hope that the key figures who have already received their first doses of the vaccines publicly will do so again for their second doses, which must be administered 3 or 4 weeks after the initial vaccination.
This push to promote vaccine safety has not only taken place in the US. Other world leaders have also agreed to get the vaccine publicly; on December 18th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu received his first dose on live TV, followed by the president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, on December 28th. Additionally, many celebrities who did not receive the vaccination on television still chose to speak or post videos about receiving the vaccine. These include Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and British television host Lionel Blair.
Most vaccinations of public figures have used either the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, both of which have been approved for emergency usage in the US and the European Union. Both vaccines use messenger RNA technology and require two doses. Pfizer’s vaccine was the first to be approved for emergency use by a major Western country (the UK), and some countries have also fully approved its usage, including Canada, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia. It has shown to be 95% effective against COVID-19 with few major side effects, however, it poses logistical challenges as it must be kept at –70°C but then thawed and diluted before injection. The Moderna vaccine is also highly effective, with 94.5% prevention of COVID-19, and simply requires regular refrigeration and warming to room temperature before injection. However, it has only been approved for more limited use globally.
The pro-vaccine campaign is truly vital to end the pandemic, because so far no country has chosen to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory. Scientific experts have estimated that around 75 percent of the population must be vaccinated in a country to ensure herd immunity (when most of the population is immune to a disease, preventing it from spreading widely), so getting as many people vaccinated as possible is essential.
Closer to LGB, the Swiss government has so far approved only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for full usage. The first person to be vaccinated in Switzerland was a 90-year-old woman on December 23rd, and the full Swiss vaccination campaign began on January 4th. According to the website set up by the Federal Office of Public Health for the campaign, “priority for the COVID-19 vaccination will be given to the following target groups:”
- High-risk individuals (over-75s and people with chronic conditions)
- Healthcare personnel with patient contact and carers of persons at especially high risk
- Close contacts (household members) of people at especially high risk
- People in communal facilities with an increased risk of infection and outbreaks (with residents of mixed ages)
All others over 16 will be able to get the vaccine after the target groups outlined above. The vaccine has not yet been approved for those under 16, which means that until further notice only a small proportion of LGB students will be able to be vaccinated when they are eligible. For more information on when you and your family may be eligible to receive the vaccine, visit https://foph-coronavirus.ch/vaccination/when-can-i-be-vaccinated/.
The first Swiss person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was a 90-year-old woman on December 23rd.
Keystone / Urs Flueeler
