Obama shares video of him visiting Maryland vaccination site

Former President Obama on Friday shared a video of him visiting Maryland’s federally run vaccination site to urge more Americans to get the shot and slow the spread of COVID-19. 

In the video posted on Twitter, Obama can be seen meeting with volunteers at the vaccination site in Greenbelt, Md., run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

“FEMA and other agencies have set up a vaccination site in a community that sometimes doesn’t always have the greatest access to health care,” he explained in the video. 

The former president addressed those getting the shot, telling them, “way to be good citizens.” 

“You’re going to not just make yourself healthy and your family healthy, but everybody healthy,” he added. 

Obama then thanked members of the Air Force, Coast Guard and other military branches who are serving as volunteers at the site to administer the shots to community members. 

He later issued a request to those getting their vaccine, saying, “You still have a job to do after you get vaccinated.” 

“That job is to talk to friends and family members and coworkers who have not yet gotten vaccinated and share with them your experience,” he added. 

The other day I had a chance to visit a COVID-19 vaccination site in Greenbelt, MD. It was great to see so many folks getting their shot. If you need one, sign up today at https://t.co/k4jKpPT5qo — and then spread the word so we can keep our families and communities safe. pic.twitter.com/iyR2IqCTD4

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 14, 2021

Friday’s video is just the latest move from the former president urging people to get the coronavirus vaccine, especially as public health experts have cautioned that vaccine supply has now outpaced demand, leading to concerns that it will take the U.S. longer to reach herd immunity. 

Late last month, Obama went on TikTok to urge young people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 “as soon as you can.” 

“It’s the only way we’re gonna get back to all the things we love from safely spending time with grandparents to going to concerts and watching live sports,” the former president said in a TikTok for Yahoo News.

Experts and elected officials hope that Thursday’s updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saying that fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear masks in most settings may further motivate people to get the vaccine. 

States across the country began lifting mandatory mask mandates to follow the CDC’s guidance, including Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 

According to the CDC, nearly 60 percent of the U.S. adult population has gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 46 percent fully vaccinated as of Friday.