Trump reversed a plan to prioritize White House staff to get the coronavirus vaccine sooner

Trump White House — President Donald Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Room of the White House on Thanksgiving on November 26, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Erin Schaff - Pool/Getty Images

President Trump said he was halting his own administration's plan to make White House staff among the first people in the country to get a coronavirus vaccine.
He tweeted on Sunday that staff should get the vaccine "somewhat later," including himself.
The New York Times reported that aides wanted to swiftly vaccinate those who work close to Trump to try to avoid any more White House illnesses before the Trump presidency ends.
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President Donald Trump intervened to stop White House staff members being among the first people in the US to get the coronavirus vaccine.

He axed a plan, reported by The New York Times, by which members of his administration would be among the first to be given Pfizer's newly-approved vaccine.

Trump tweeted on Sunday that White House staff should get the vaccine "somewhat later" and that he wasn't yet scheduled to get it.

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020

He wrote: "People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary. I have asked that this adjustment be made.

"I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. Thank you!"

Two sources had told the Times that White House staff who work closely with Trump were told that they were due to get doses of the vaccine soon.

The Times also noted that it is not clear why Trump decided to change the strategy.

The Times reported that the goal of the plan was to avoid more people in the White House falling ill before the Trump presidency ends in January.

One source said that the under the plan, vaccines would be given to all staff who work in the White House.

The White House has battled multiple outbreaks of the coronavirus, and President Donald Trump was hospitalized with the virus in October, where he got treatments the average patient would not be able to get access to.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthcare workers and nursing home residents are prioritized to get the vaccine. Each state can decide how it distributes the vaccines it gets from the federal government.

As Business Insider's Kelsey Vlamis reported, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Sunday that the first COVID-19 vaccinations could be administered as early as Monday.

Pfizer vaccine, developed jointly with the Germany firm BioNTech, became the first vaccine authorized for use in the US on Friday.

More than 16 million people have been infected with the coronavirus in the US, and more than 299,000 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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