White House says Trump is "open" to taking Covid vaccine

1:45 p.m. ET, December 15, 2020

White House says Trump is "open" to taking Covid vaccine

From CNN's Maegan Vazquez

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a press briefing on December 15 in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday repeated that President Trump would be open to taking the coronavirus vaccine, but would not commit to timing or getting inoculated in public to inspire confidence in its efficacy.

She also confirmed that senior administration officials will be injected with the vaccine in coming days to instill public confidence.

“(Trump) is absolutely open to taking the vaccine. He’s been emphatic about that to me privately and to you all publicly. But he did recently recover from Covid. He has the continued protective effects of the monoclonal antibody cocktail that I mentioned, and he will receive the vaccine as soon as his medical team determines it’s best,” McEnany said during a press briefing. “But his priority is frontline workers, those in long term care facilities, and he wants to make sure that the vulnerable get access first.”

Asked why Trump wouldn’t want to take the vaccine to set an example, that the vaccine is safe, and heed the advice of public health experts, McEnany said, “Because he also wants to show Americans that our priority are the most vulnerable.”

“There will be some senior administration officials taking it publicly to instill that confidence. It is very important … You’ll learn in the next few days who that is,” McEnany added. She later described the officials as “career staff” and “national security staff,” who will be vaccinated for the purposes of continuity of government, as well as a “small group” of senior administration officials.

McEnany also said she would be open to taking the vaccine as well.

The press secretary said Trump is “absolutely” encouraging Americans to get the vaccine. “He wants to see all Americans get this vaccine and he wants to see the most vulnerable among us get it first,” she said.

1:25 p.m. ET, December 15, 2020

Fauci still plans to get Covid-19 vaccine in the next few days

From CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on November 19 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

In an interview Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci repeated that he will likely get vaccinated against Covid-19 within the next few days.

“I'm not going to be getting it today. Likely, I hope, within the next few days,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Vox’s Sean Rameswaram.

“We just rolled it out yesterday. There were 2.9 million doses that were distributed to about 145 sites, so we're going to try and do it really as a symbol to get people to appreciate that we're confident that it's safe and that it is certainly very efficacious,” he added, citing the efficacy of both Pfizer/BioNTech’s and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines.

1:12 p.m. ET, December 15, 2020

Doctor says she found out 27th Covid-19 patient died while walking to get coronavirus vaccine

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Dr. Valerie Briones-Pryor speaks during an interview on December 15. CNN via Webex Cisco

Dr. Valerie Briones-Pryor said getting her first dose of the coronavirus vaccine was “bittersweet,” because as she was walking to receive the vaccine, she heard her 27th patient had died from the virus.

“It was very emotional for me to get that vaccine yesterday. And even just thinking about it now, I kind of tear up, because have been waiting for this for a long time. I’ve been on the Covid unit since March, so I’ve been doing it pretty much every day, except for a day off here and there. So I had been looking forward to yesterday for a long time,” Briones-Pryor, a physician at the University of Louisville Health, said to CNN’s Dana Bash.

“I know we still have a hard fight ahead of us. It’s not over, but at least for me this is hope,” she added.

Briones-Pryor said she would not have gotten the vaccine if she didn’t think it was safe and encouraged everyone “to do their part.”

She said that other than her arm being a little sore, she has no side effects.

12:57 p.m. ET, December 15, 2020

White House vaccine chief says Biden should be vaccinated

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

President-elect Joe Biden speaks on December 14 at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware. Patrick Semansky/AP

In agreement with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s comments, Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, says President-elect Joe Biden should be vaccinated.

“I think it’s very important that our leaders — departing ones and arriving ones — are protected. I think both President Trump and President-elect Biden, they’re both parts of the higher age group, and therefore, higher risk, so, yeah, I think they should be vaccinated.”

This would also show the public that they trust the vaccine and lead by example, he added.

Slaoui also said the administration has a plan to push out public messaging on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine so that the American people trust the vaccine.

President Trump’s role in driving that message is “very important,” he added.

“There's a whole fringe of the population that listen to the President very carefully, and therefore, he has an important role. I know he’s been very supportive of the vaccine development, so I hope he will be of course as supportive of its usage.”

Watch:

12:11 p.m. ET, December 15, 2020

White House vaccine chief says he is "optimistic" about the Moderna vaccine

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, speaks during an interview on December 15. CNN

Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, says he hopes the US Food and Drug Administration will authorize Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization (EUA) this week after it was confirmed to have 94.5% efficacy against the virus.

“I think the data are similar to those of the Pfizer vaccine," he told CNN. "So my expectation is it should be, hopefully, approved also on Friday, a day after the advisory committee [meets.] But, of course, we'll see."

An advisory committee to the FDA released data in a briefing document on Tuesday morning that confirmed the vaccine has a "favorable" safety profile.

The document will be discussed in a meeting this Thursday, during which the FDA's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will review and provide recommendations on whether the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks for use in adults age 18 and older.

Once approved, Slaoui said the shipment could start 24 hours later. More than 6 million doses of vaccines will be shipped to more than 3,200 sites, he added.

“We're ramping up to distribute more vaccines.”

Watch more:

11:23 a.m. ET, December 15, 2020

One of first doctors to receive vaccine says dialogue about health disparities is a pandemic "silver lining"

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Lenox Hill Hospital Chair of Emergency Medicine Yves Duroseau receives the Covid-19 vaccine from Doctor Michelle Chester at Long Island Jewish Medical Center on December 14 in New York. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

New York physician Dr. Yves Duroseau, one of the first health care workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine in the US, said he received the vaccine on live television yesterday because he thinks it’s important to be a role model for others.

Duroseau, the chair of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, said he was sending a message as both a leader and physician who has seen patients suffer from Covid-19, as well as to “communities who are maybe reluctant to take the vaccination.”

“There are communities that have suffered disproportionately, and it's very important that they also realized the need to take the vaccination,” he said to CNN’s Poppy Harlow.

Just 20% of Black Americans and 26% of Hispanics said they wanted a coronavirus vaccine right away, according to a survey out today from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Duroseau said a “silver lining” of the pandemic is that the country is having a conversation about health care disparities.

“We have to reach out to…not just minorities but rural areas. We have to make sure that everyone is included, and we're talking about health care disparities in ways that we've never spoken about them,” he said.

He said he’s feeling “great” nearly 24 hours after getting the vaccine.

As someone who lost a family member to the virus, he warned people to not let up on social distancing measures and other guidelines.

Watch:

11:22 a.m. ET, December 15, 2020

A health care worker explains why she got vaccinated: "I've seen enough death and dying"

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Shawn Hendricks, a Maryland health care worker, speaks during an interview on December 15. CNN via Webex Cisco

Shawn Hendricks, a Maryland health care worker, always knew she wanted to get vaccinated. Her mother, brother and brother-in-law had already caught the virus, so “it hit home personally,” but work had also shown her the impact of coronavirus.

“I’ve seen enough death and dying within the hospital,” she told CNN.

Hendricks, nursing director of medicine, was the among the first employees at University of Maryland Medical Center to get vaccinated.

“I knew the impact that the vaccine would have because we need it. I always have felt very strongly that if we don't widely vaccinate, this pandemic is going to get worse, the numbers are going to continue to increase,” she said Tuesday.

She says she felt good after getting her shot, and she was observed for a period of time to ensure she had no side effects or adverse effects.

The vaccine is being rolled out while there has been hesitancy in the Black and Latino community to take it. Hendricks says she understands their concern, but having dedicated her life to science and medicine and having done her research, she was willing to get vaccinated.

“I urge, you know, members of our Black community to become vaccinated. We are three times more likely to be affected with Covid than any other ethnic group. So it would only behoove us to be smart about it.”

She added:

“Unfortunately, if it hasn't hit your doorstep yet, it's like a game of Russian roulette. You’re just waiting for your turn.”

Watch:

11:06 a.m. ET, December 15, 2020

Walgreens will put ultra-cold freezers at about 100 sites to store Covid-19 vaccine, company official says

From CNN's Andrea Diaz

Rick Gates, Walgreens’ senior vice president of pharmacy and healthcare, speaks during an interview on December 15. CNN

Rick Gates, Walgreens’ senior vice president of pharmacy and healthcare, told CNN Tuesday that the company is planning on placing freezers that can maintain the temperature needed to store the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

"You need to think about the Pfizer vaccine, which does have more challenging storage requirements, but that's something that's just – we've had to plan for. So we are putting out ... ultra-cold freezers in about 100 sites across the US, and then dry ice as well," Gates told CNN's Julia Chatterley.

"So, we're planning for it, and it's all about the storage. Remember, after we store the vaccine – that comes back to preparing and shipping to the long-term care facilities – that's a pretty standard process, we just have to worry about the storage, which we're planning for," he added.

As far as having enough staff to vaccinate the general public, Gates said that starting Monday, Walgreens is hiring 25,000 total team members and about 9,000 pharmacy team members, to ensure they are ready to administer this vaccine.

10:59 a.m. ET, December 15, 2020

New York City has administered 73 first dose vaccines, mayor says

From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia

New York City has already administered 73 first dose vaccines to health care workers, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.

Nearly 41,000 more doses are expected to be available by the end of the day at 42 hospitals.

Frontline healthcare workers and nursing homes remain top priority.

“This is going to really speed up,” he said, calling it “incredibly encouraging.”

December 15 coronavirus news