Trump to Delay Early COVID-19 Vaccines for White House Staff

His administration had announced earlier that the vaccine would be first distributed to White House staff.

Outgoing President, Donald Trump

(Photo: The Quint)

Outgoing President Donald Trump said on Sunday, 13 December, that he would delay the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to White House staff members, “unless necessary,” reported The New York Times.

“People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary,” Trump tweeted.

Trump’s statement has come in complete contradiction to that of his administration who had announced only hours earlier that the vaccine would be first distributed to White House staff, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention having designated front-line health workers and people in nursing homes as the first recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Two sources familiar with the vaccine distribution plan spoke to The New York Times and said that they were told that White House staff members who work closely with Trump were scheduled to receive the coronavirus vaccine soon. The sources also told the The New York Times that the goal was to vaccine the staff in the West Wing to prevent additional officials from falling sick in the final weeks of the Trump administration. They eventually hoped to distribute the vaccine to the rest of the staff.

Many White House staff members have tested positive and recovered from COVID-19. Trump himself tested positive for the virus in October, and recovered after being hospitalised. After claiming he was ‘immune’ to the virus, the outgoing President later implied that he would get the vaccine in the future, but had no immediate plans to do so, reported The New York Times.