Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director of the World Health Organisation, has stated that he is willing to get vaccinated for COVID-19 on camera in an effort to build public confidence for the vaccines.
Tedros during a Friday briefing said that he will be "happy to" show himself getting the COVID-19 vaccine in public whenever it is available to him.
When questioned about former US presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama committing to getting vaccinated publicly, the WHO Director said, "It's a good idea, and I support their offer".
"I would be happy to do the same thing, but at the same time, I need to also make sure that it's my turn because I don't want to take anybody's vaccine," he added.
The three former US presidents had agreed to get vaccinated on camera earlier this week. Their aim is to build American confidence for the COVID-19 vaccine. While President-elect Joe Biden said that he will take the vaccine when America's leading infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci agrees that the vaccine is safe.
A recent WHO survey has indicated that a third of American citizens say that they would not get vaccinated, according to Business Standard. Black Americans are particularly sceptical about getting the vaccine possibly because of a long history of inequity in the American healthcare system.
Getting enough American citizens vaccinated is crucial for gaining herd immunity against the coronavirus, according to Fauci. He said that at least 75 per cent of all Americans would need to get vaccinated by fall 2021 if the country wants to return to any state of normalcy.
The problem of scepticism towards the vaccine is not limited just to America. The president of Red Cross has requested all governments across the world to combat misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine due to declining trust.
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