White House COVID-19 response advisor says priority is vaccinations, not booster shots

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — COVID-19 boosters have taken center stage since the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for a third shot of Pfizer’s vaccine.

However, a disproportionate number of people of color have yet to receive their first dose. But the Biden administration is looking to close that gap.

News 8 spoke with Dr. Cameron Webb, White House senior advisor for equity on the COVID-19 response, who says their priority isn’t boosters, but getting the unvaccinated vaccinated.

“You haven’t seen any strong messaging from the administration or any of our outreach with the message, ‘hey, go get your booster’ because we’re still trying to make sure we get to 100% of individuals who are eligible to be vaccinated,” Webb said. “So if you’re older than 12, we want everyone to get vaccinated. We haven’t given up hope that we are to get hundreds of thousands of people vaccinated everyday.”

He says that’s been the administration’s goal since the beginning. In fact, when the president outlined his six-point plan, vaccinating the unvaccinated was at the top of the list.

Webb does acknowledge, however, the importance of boosters so people can maintain their protection against the virus. But the main focus, he says, continues to be getting as many people immunized as possible.