The president and first lady, Jill Biden, recorded a video message thanking health workers that will be shown before the game, according to a source familiar with the plans. An administration official told CNN that the White House also hopes to take advantage of the Sunday opportunity to combat the vaccine root and especially speak to African-American, Latino and white, rural ‘non-masking’ communities . The Super Bowl provides an “interesting opportunity to reach all three audiences,” the official said.
The White House has been in touch with the NFL and other brands involved in the Super Bowl about ways to integrate pro-mask and pro-vaccine messages into the highly-regarded event. They did not want to elaborate further on the extent of the White House’s collaborations with the league or specific companies.
The Super Bowl weekend message strategy is part of an extensive national campaign seeking to develop the Biden government to encourage responsible behavior and encourage Americans to receive the Covid vaccine when it’s their turn. An administration official has consulted with behavioral economists and messaging strategists, and they are constantly monitoring the polls around the issue. Biden’s top assistants also brainstormed about individuals trusted by the public – including a few celebrities – who could potentially help spread their message in the future.
This comes as Biden’s overwhelming concern over the past few days, when informed by his top health advisers, has focused on questions about both the speed and range of Covid vaccines, the official said.
“Tell me straight. How fast can we go? How fast can we get people?” is how the official describes some of the most pressing questions the president poses to his best Covid advisers. “How can we get it for everyone – not just for the easy people?”
Biden in particular showed an optimistic tone in public last week when he said he was hopeful that the United States could administer 1.5 million vaccine shots a day within a few weeks. His previously stated goal was to get 1 million shots a day for the first 100 days of his presidency. Biden also said that anyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get it by spring – a more ambitious timeline than some of his top health officials had previously predicted.
At the time, his assistants insisted that the White House’s official goal was still to deliver 1 million shots a day, and that Biden had simply expressed his hope that by spring there would be ‘greater availability’ of vaccines. An administration official told CNN that Biden’s Covid team did not intend to share with the president the specific aspirations.
“He expects it to go up,” the official said of the number of vaccinations administered daily. “He pushes and hopes.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 35 million doses of the Covid vaccine were administered on Thursday, with about 6.9 million people receiving two doses of the vaccine.
In a public information session on Wednesday, dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, urged Americans to watch the game responsibly on Sunday.
“Remember – whatever team you root for and which ad is your favorite, feel free to watch the Super Bowl and only meet virtually or with the people you live with,” Walensky said.
The NFL, in turn, consulted with public health officials in preparation for the weekend and announced a set of protocols, including mandatory mask wear and social distance to prevent the spread of Covid during the weekend’s game. It also invited about 7,500 vaccinated health workers to the game to honor their ongoing work during the pandemic. According to the NFL, about 14,500 people will attend by general admission, and another 2,700 fans in stadium suites.
Goodell also wrote in a letter to Biden on Thursday that each NFL team will make its stadium available for mass vaccination from the public. The Biden administration said the development of such vaccination sites would be an important part of the push to increase the rate of Covid vaccinations.
Joe Lockhart, a Clinton administration veteran who also served as chief spokesman for the National Football League, said the Super Bowl is a “unique opportunity” in American culture that offers a unique opportunity to hear an audience catch.
“There’s nothing else. There’s no other place to sell your cars or educate the public,” Lockhart said. “So, I think it’s a huge opportunity for the public health community to get their message across, including the White House.”
The White House has long made it clear that combating vaccine hesitation through concerns among Americans about whether Covid vaccines are safe and effective is a top priority in combating the pandemic.
This effort has become all the more urgent with variants of the virus first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa. Biden’s top health officials have stressed over the past few days that the best way to stop the spread of the new variant is to vaccinate the American public as quickly as possible.
Another emerging challenge for the Biden government is the expected approval of a third vaccine for use in the United States by Johnson & Johnson. Trials have shown that the single-dose vaccine has a lower effectiveness than the two already administered in the US – made by Moderna and Pfizer – and the government is trying to raise potential skepticism about whether the Johnson & Johnson- vaccine to temper is worth taking.
“You need to be vaccinated if it is available as quickly and as quickly as possible,” said Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, this week. “You stop their replication by vaccinating widely … If you get the vaccine available, please be vaccinated.”
The administration will also need to ensure that there is finally enough vaccine to enable them to significantly increase the rate of gunshot wounds to the arms – specifically to achieve the goal of completing almost the entire U.S. population by the end of the summer. te ent. or early fall. Biden announced last week the purchase of another 200 million doses of vaccines.
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been getting their Covid vaccines in front of cameras over the past few weeks in an effort to combat vaccine hesitation.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a recent press conference that many celebrities had offered their help in public about the safety of the Covid vaccines.
“Okay. We welcome it,” Psaki said. “But what’s interesting about the data is that local doctors and local officials – you know, people from the community – are people who are trusted the most, and that’s why we’re really trying to empower and fund local communities. to be able to be spokespersons to build that trust. ‘
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.