The exclusive club of former presidents and first ladies met with an important message: Get the COVID-19 vaccine. Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump are absent from the campaign.
In the recently launched “It’s Up To You” advertising campaign, former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and former first ladies Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama are emphasizing the importance of Americans getting the vaccine as soon as they are eligible.
There are two ads in the new campaign. One shows former presidents and first ladies getting your vaccines and sharing personal anecdotes, and another introduces Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama together in a direct speech to the American people.
“Soon, they will be available to everyone,” Bush said of the vaccine at the beginning of the first announcement.
“This vaccine means hope,” Obama said next. “It will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease.”
Clinton says he wants to get back to work, Obama discusses the possibility of hugging Michelle’s mother and seeing her on her birthday and Bush shares his joy at attending Opening Day at Texas Rangers Stadium total capacity.
“I am being vaccinated because we want the pandemic to end as soon as possible,” said Carter, although it does not appear in the video.
The ad ends with images of former presidents and first ladies receiving their photos, concluding with a smiling photo of Carter holding his vaccination card.
The second announcement features Bush, Clinton and Obama together at the Memorial Amphitheater at the Arlington National Ceremony. The three former presidents united in Arlington on January 20 to mark the inauguration of President Biden.
“The science is clear, these vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease,” said Bush. “Therefore, we recommend that you get vaccinated when it is available to you.”
“They can save your life,” adds Clinton.
“This is the first step in ending the pandemic and moving our country forward,” said Obama. “You decide.”
Mr. Trump and his wife did not participate in the campaign. Both received the coronavirus vaccine in January, but did not reveal that they were vaccinated until weeks after leaving the White House.
Public service announcements arrive just in time for the World Health Organization’s one-year anniversary declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic.
The hesitation to obtain the vaccine remains a critical problem in the United States, as the Biden government intensifies its efforts to vaccinate 100 million Americans in President Biden’s first 100 days in office. Mr. Biden will deliver a first prime time address for the nation on Thursday night, marking the anniversary of the pandemic.
More than 525,000 Americans died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.
More than 93.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered by Tuesday and 123.2 million injections have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 32 million Americans are fully vaccinated, and the United States now has an average of more than 2 million injections administered per day.
Emergency use authorizations have been approved so far for the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines and the Johnson & Johnson single dose.