Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Former Presidents Team Up To Urge Americans To Get The Shot
The exclusive club of former presidents 鈥 minus its most recently inducted member 鈥 is featured in two national ad campaigns released Thursday that are aimed at building confidence among Americans in the coronavirus vaccines, according to copies of the videos provided to NBC News. One of the spots, which runs a minute long, shows images of former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as former first ladies Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, being vaccinated. (Lee and Alba, 3/11)
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and their respective former first ladies are part of a newly released ad campaign urging Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine when it is their turn, a push that is aimed squarely at combating vaccine skepticism. There are two ads in the campaign: a minute-long, more personal spot that shows the four former presidents and former first ladies receiving their vaccines, and another that features Clinton, Bush and Obama standing together to urge Americans to step up and get vaccinated. (Merica, 3/11)
In news about former President Donald Trump 鈥
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that if not for him Americans would likely never receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 鈥淚 hope everyone remembers when they鈥檙e getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn鈥檛 President, you wouldn鈥檛 be getting that beautiful 鈥榮hot鈥 for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn鈥檛 be getting it at all,鈥 Trump said in a statement. 鈥淚 hope everyone remembers!鈥 he continued. (Garger, 3/10)
Former president Donald Trump recently requested a mail-in ballot for a municipal election in South Florida, according to Palm Beach County records, voting again by mail despite months of repeatedly promoting false claims of election fraud without evidence. Records from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, first reported by the Palm Beach Post, show that a mail-in ballot for the town鈥檚 local election this week was requested on Friday for the former president鈥檚 residence at Mar-a-Lago, his private club on Palm Beach. (Bella, 3/10)