Vivek Murthy (left), Dr. Jill Biden.Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Nearly 70 years after it became the the first school to administer the polio vaccine, Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, played host to First Lady Dr.Jill Bidenand Surgeon GeneralVivek Murthyas they kicked off the administration’s push to encourage pediatricCOVID-19 vaccinations.
Biden, 70, and Murthy, 44, visited the school one week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced itsrecommendationof the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 through 11.
Speaking to a group of students and their families, Biden said she was “here to talk to parents.”
Jill Biden.Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Vivek Murthy (left), Jill Biden.Anna Moneymaker/Getty
She continued: “Please make the decision to protect your children with the same vaccine that already saved millions of lives. Because nothing is more important than our children’s health. It’s up to us to keep them safe and with this vaccine, we can.”
According to the White House, Franklin Sherman was the first school to administer the polio vaccine in 1954.
Some 260 kids were vaccinated at the site today, according to a White House press pool report.
In recent months, the first lady has made appearances at COVID vaccination sites around the U.S. in a bid to highlightthe Biden administration’s effortsto get all Americans vaccinated and stop the pandemic that has killed more than 750,000 people in the country.
In September, the president received hisbooster shotat the White House.
“We know that to beat this pandemic and to save lives … we need to get folks vaccinated,“hen said during remarks ahead of his booster shot. “So, please, please do the right thing.”
According to the White House, Dr. Biden will visit several pediatric vaccination sites throughout the country in the coming weeks.
source: people.com
