White House: It shouldn’t take someone knowing a neighbour getting hospitalized to get vaccinated

Psaki’s words come as many Americans are hesitant to get vaccinated

La secretaria de prensa de la Casa Blanca, Jen Psaki, habla durante una conferencia de prensa diaria en la Casa Blanca en Washington, DC, Estados Unidos, 19 de julio de 2021. (EPA)

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said that people shouldn’t have to know someone who is sick and hospitalised to get vaccinated.

“We don’t want that to be the case,” Ms Psaki told reporters on Friday during a press briefing.

“Certainly our objective is to communicate to people this is not a political issue, it is not a partisan issue, this is about protecting lives,” Ms Psaki said.

Ms Psaki’s words come as more Republicans and conservative media figures push for vaccinations. She added that five states with the highest case rates – including Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada – had a higher rate of new vaccinations compared to the national average.

Similarly, Ms Psaki was asked about the NFL’s new policy that teams will have to forfeit games if there is an outbreak among non-vaccinated players.

“That’s their role to do,” she said. “We certainly believe that the biggest takeaway is that getting vaccinated is our ticket back to normal.”