The first letter from the majority of former US Surgeons General to President Joe Biden calls for National Vaccine Day, a new one-time federal holiday to create positive associations with public health and vaccination to help the US stamp out COVID-19.
In the letter, Antonia Novello, Joycelyn Elders, David Satcher, Richard Carmona— respectively the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th US Surgeons General— write that the holiday would “focus our nation’s attention on the importance of vaccination.” The Surgeon General is the federal government’s leading spokesperson on matters of public health.
Kumail Nanjiani, actor and screenwriter for The Big Sick and Silicon Valley, told ABC that National Vaccine Day can “spread awareness about the various vaccines that have helped us eradicate disease in the past, and that vaccination isn’t some scary new thing we’re experimenting with.
Nanjiani and the Surgeons General join a team of scientists and public health experts advocating for National Vaccine Day, including Stanley Plotkin, creator of the rubella vaccine, and Luciana Borio, former director for Medical and Biodefense Preparedness at the National Security Council.
To connect with Dr. Richard Carmona or another member of the 1Day Sooner Steering Committee for an interview, email communications@1daysooner.org.
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