Ex-presidents would get vaccine publicly to boost confidence

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three former presidents say they'd be willing to take a coronavirus vaccine publicly, once one becomes available, to encourage all Americans to get inoculated against a disease that has already killed more than 273,000 people nationwide.

Former President Barack Obama said during an episode of SiriusXM’s “The Joe Madison Show" airing Thursday, “I promise you that when it’s been made for people who are less at risk, I will be taking it.”

“I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed, just so that people know that I trust this science,” Obama added.

That may not be possible for the foreseeable future, though. The Food and Drug Administration will consider authorizing emergency use of two vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna later this month, but current estimates project that no more than 20 million doses of each vaccine will be available by the end of this year. Each product also requires two doses, meaning shots will be rationed in the early stages.

Health care workers and nursing home residents should be at the front of the line, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an influential government advisory panel, said earlier this week. That encompasses about 24 million people out of a U.S. population of around 330 million.

Still, former President Bill Clinton would “definitely” be willing to get a vaccine, as soon as one is "available to him, based on the priorities determined by public health officials,” spokesman Angel Ureña said.

"And he will do it in a public setting if it will help urge all Americans to do the same,” Ureña said in a statement Thursday.

Ureña declined to answer a question on whether Clinton's team has been in touch with advisers to other former presidents about perhaps setting up a joint...