“Virtually every Covid death in America is preventable:” Biden gets booster in hopes of you getting yours

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - According to new numbers from the CDC, there’s a declining interest in getting a Covid booster shot.

About 93 percent of those 65 and older have been fully vaccinated - but only 72 percent got a booster.

President Joe Biden is making himself the face of the booster shot - getting his bivalent booster shot Tuesday in front of a group of reporters.

“the President has been very clear in his leadership on this. He thinks it’s really important for Americans to protect themselves. And he is modeling that behavior,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid response coordinator. He says the time to get the booster is now.

“You want to protect your family,” said Jha, “You’re doing it because you want to have a safe and healthy and not disrupted Thanksgiving or Christmas or the other holidays.”

Not everyone is sold - according to the CDC less than 10% of the population ages 5 and older have gotten the bivalent booster shot - the one that targets the original covid-19 strain, as well as the two omicron subvariants.

“You know, vaccines are very much a personal choice. And I think there are very few places where there are still vaccine mandates,” said Jha.

Still - President Biden says it’s a risk not worth taking.

“Virtually every covid death in America is preventable. Virtually every one. Almost everyone who will die of covid this year will not be up-to-date on their shots.

This week Pfizer announced it will begin charging between $110 and $130 per dose of the Covid-19 vaccine once the government phases out it’s free distribution program.

That will likely begin early next year.

Pfizer says many will continue to be able to receive the vaccine for free through insurance.