Joe Biden & Dr. Fauci COVID-19 Vaccine YouTube Town Hall Transcript

Manny MUA: (00:00) If you were to be stranded on a desert island and you had to bring one product with you, a skincare product that you might really love, what would it be? Joe Biden: (00:06) Some sunscreen. Manny MUA: (00:08) There we go. Karine Jean-Pierre: (00:10) Welcome to the YouTube town hall on COVID-19 vaccination with President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci. My name is Karine Jean-Pierre and I'll be hosting these conversations that we're going to have today. Now, listen, we are doing this today because we wanted to partner up with some of your favorite creators to have a conversation about the importance of getting vaccinated. Let's get started with our first conversation, Manny MUA. Joe Biden: (00:36) Manny MUA, can you hear me? Manny MUA: (00:40) Are you guys doing? Joe Biden: (00:41) Doing well. Dr. Anthony Fauci: (00:43) Doing fine. How are you? Manny MUA: (00:44) I'm doing fantastic. Thank you guys so much for doing this with me. I really, really appreciate it. You guys are absolutely great. Have a couple of questions for you guys. There's a lot of rumors that are going around that young and healthy people don't need to get the vaccine and you should save it for people who are a little bit older. What do you guys think about that? Both of your guys' thoughts. Dr. Anthony Fauci: (00:59) Young children, even though when they get infected, it's unlikely that they would have a serious disease compared to an elderly person or a person who has an underlying condition, they are not exempt from getting serious illness. So you want to protect the youngsters. Be they adolescents, be they young children, you want to protect them. There's no doubt about it. But then there's also the responsibility that you have of not being part of spreading the infection throughout the community. So you almost want to take what I call a societal responsibility, protecting children also protect society. Manny MUA: (01:36) So I've heard rumors about of course, a vaccine passport, when you'll need to confirm whether you have the vaccine or not to travel or to go to concerts, et cetera. Do you feel like that is going to be something that's going to be implemented more? Joe Biden: (01:46) These rumors of vaccine passports, I think it just plays to paranoia in some people, particularly with younger people, and that's just not the case. But if you've been vaccinated, you don't need to wear a mask, and if you're not, you should wear a mask for your own safety's sake and for the sake of the people you care a great deal about, the people you love. It's so easy for people to get a vaccine. All you have to do is text your zip code and the number 438829, they'll tell you exactly where you can go to get a vaccine. You can get it quickly, and you know what? Uber and Lyft have come along and they've said that for the end of May, all the way through to July 4th, anybody who calls them, they'll pick them up, take them to a vaccine site, wait for them and take them back. That's a big deal. Manny MUA: (02:35) Honestly, that's incredible. I love that they did initiative like that. I feel like that's absolutely amazing and so responsible of them. For my last question, President Biden, because I am a beauty guru myself, I do have to ask, if you were to be stranded on a desert island and you had to bring one product with you, a skincare product that you might really love, what would it be? Joe Biden: (02:54) I think my wife, before I headed to that island would tell me that you better bring some sunscreen. Manny MUA: (03:00) There we go. That was all the questions I had. I just want to say, thank you so much. Have an amazing one both of you. Have a great day. Joe Biden: (03:06) You too. Karine Jean-Pierre: (03:08) As you just heard from President Biden, everyone needs to get vaccinated, including young people. And if you are 12 years and older, you are now eligible to get vaccinated. So please get that vaccine. And now I am so excited to introduce you to Brave Wilderness Coyote and Mark, two of my daughter's favorite. Let's listen in. Joe Biden: (03:33) Hey fellas, how are you? Coyote: (03:35) Good, how are you guys doing? Joe Biden: (03:36) I'm doing well. Dr. Anthony Fauci: (03:38) Good to see you. Coyote: (03:39) What Mark and I do, we are often on some pretty crazy adventures. I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with our work, but it's pretty wild. Joe Biden: (03:46) Mine's really calm. Coyote: (03:47) I get up close with all sorts of animals that people likely be afraid of, snakes, scorpions, sharks, even grizzly bears, and fear is usually a result of people not understanding a certain species. I could say that the same thing goes for shots and vaccines. What can you tell us that will help alleviate any concerns parents might have in regard to kids getting vaccinated, and why children that are the appropriate age should not be afraid of the vaccine? Joe Biden: (04:18) You know, exposing somebody to something that is going to be for their benefit, and if they learn about it, they'll be able to do good by it. It's the same way I explain to parents about why their 12 year old should get the shot. And I talk about it in terms of teaching about obligation to other people. It's not just about them, it's an obligation they have to their friends and other people. Now on your show you do, you talk about the obligation we have to take care of what we've been given in the wild, and so on. Dr. Anthony Fauci: (04:48) The important thing is that often parents ask some reasonable questions. Is this really safe for my child? And did you really rush the vaccine? That vaccine that has been distributed, that I got, that the president got, that is the result of decades of scientific and clinical research that led to that. Mark: (05:08) We have to travel a lot to do what we do. Every single video that we make for our YouTube channel requires some kind of travel. So needless to say this past year has been pretty challenging, but we recognize it hasn't been nearly as challenging as some of the families out there that haven't been able to see loved ones or take their kids on those experiences to the national parks and things like that. How does this new vaccine group impact summer vacation? Joe Biden: (05:32) They have that vaccine, they can get on a plane. They're probably still going to put a mask on on most planes, trains, and buses, but they're going to be able to go wherever they want to go. Dr. Anthony Fauci: (05:43) Vaccines are making travel safe. We are an interconnected world and we stay interconnected by travel. So travel is really very important, and the gateway to safe travel is to get vaccinated. Coyote: (05:59) You let me know when you're ready to take a grand adventure. If you want to meet a wolf in person, I can get you situated with that. Just send Air Force One out. Mark and I'll be ready for any adventure you guys want to go on. Joe Biden: (06:10) Thank you guys. You're awful nice. Thank you. Coyote: (06:12) Thank you guys. Have a great day. Karine Jean-Pierre: (06:14) The first two conversation shed to light the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccination not only for yourself, but also for your family. Now let's listen in to our third and final conversation with Jackie Aina, who is an activist and also a YouTube creator. Jackie Aina: (06:33) Hi Mr. President, how are you? Joe Biden: (06:35) We're doing well. Dr. Anthony Fauci: (06:36) Doing fine. Good to see you. Joe Biden: (06:38) How are you doing? Jackie Aina: (06:39) I'm doing good. I'm very pleased to be talking to you and Dr. Fauci. Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity. Joe Biden: (06:45) I understand you have some questions. Jackie Aina: (06:47) Yes I do. I'll jump right in. What do you say to folks who are fearful of the COVID-19 vaccine? Dr. Anthony Fauci: (06:53) The science behind both the safety and the efficacy of the vaccine is truly extraordinary. We never put people down for asking questions about their concerns about the vaccine, but they need to know that the science that went into it is absolutely pristine. This is the result of decades of very intensive basic, and clinical research. Joe Biden: (07:18) It's all about protecting other people too. It's not just about you. It's about your obligation. Jackie Aina: (07:24) Absolutely. That's something that I think about constantly. At 33, I don't have any pre-existing conditions, so I want to be forthcoming and think about other people. So I totally agree with that. My next question, in a country where communities of color, specifically black communities don't have equitable access to healthcare resources, how can we ensure that these communities have access to the vaccines? Joe Biden: (07:48) When I set up this commission that we've put together, that Dr. Fauci's the best known member of it, I asked one person to do nothing but deal with equity. What we found out was that an awful lot of African-Americans, especially older African-Americans may live theoretically within five, seven miles of a drugstore, but guess what? That might well be 500 miles of the drug store. They have no way of getting there. Not all, but many don't. And so how do we get the vaccine to them or them to where the vaccine is? So we've vastly expanded where we made the vaccine available to 80,000 sites. We put mobile units. If you can't get to them, they can't get to the site, the site can go to them. Jackie Aina: (08:34) Thank you so much Mr. President for just taking the time. These are issues that mean a lot to me and my community and my audience. And also thank you for your time, Dr. Fauci. This is awesome. Thank you again for having me and answering my questions. Karine Jean-Pierre: (08:48) Thank you so much for watching the YouTube town hall on COVID-19 vaccinations. To get more information on how you can get your vaccine, go to vaccines.gov, or just go to the description below.