US President Joe Biden received a new booster dose of the Covid vaccine on Tuesday and called on his compatriots to follow his example as winter approaches.
The 79-year-old Democrat, who had Covid-19 three months ago, had already received a second booster dose at the end of March.
This additional injection, received at the White House in the presence of journalists, targets two subvariants of the virus.
Hundreds of deaths every day
Joe Biden also announced initiatives aimed at pushing Americans to receive their booster dose before the end-of-year holidays, conducive to travel and family reunions.
"I call on all Americans...to get their injection as soon as possible
," he said.
“Hundreds of people are still dying every day from Covid, hundreds.
It is likely that this figure will increase this winter, but (...) almost all deaths can be prevented this year.
He said his government and major pharmacy chains, whose leaders were present for his injection on Tuesday, were working together to ensure the booster was widely available and free.
Referring to the strong politicization of vaccination in the United States, he called for
“starting from scratch as a country, to leave behind us the old quarrels linked to Covid, to leave partisan politics aside”.
So far, only 20 million Americans, including one in five seniors, have received it, according to the US executive.