First Lady Pool Reports of November 8, 2021

FLOTUS Pool Report #1 - Background

Good afternoon! I will be your pooler for FLOTUS event at the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia. We were tested earlier today and arrived before the motorcade. At 2:15pm, the First Lady will kick of a nationwide effort urging parents and guardians to vaccinate kids ages 5-11.

Here is some background from the OFL:

The First Lady and Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, will visit a pediatric COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia. Franklin Sherman Elementary School played a historic role during the polio epidemic as the first school to administer the polio vaccine in 1954. The First Lady's visit will kick off a nationwide effort from the Biden-Harris Administration to encourage parents and guardians to vaccinate children ages 5-11. Dr. Biden's visit will be the first White House visit to a pediatric COVID-19 vaccination clinic since the CDC recommended the use of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine on November 2.
Franklin Sherman Elementary School is a public school located in McLean, Virginia. The school has a total enrollment of around 350 students in grades K through 6. In 1954, Franklin Sherman Elementary School was the first school in the nation to host a polio vaccine clinic, vaccinating more than 100 second graders on April 26, 1954.
The First Lady and the Surgeon General will be joined by Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D, VA-10); Mr. Jeffrey McKay, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; Mrs. Pamela Northam, Governor Northam's spouse (D, VA); Dr. Scott Brabrand, Superintendent, Fairfax County Public Schools; Mrs. Stella Pekarsky, Chair, Fairfax County School Board; and Ms. Kathleen Quigley, Principal, Franklin Sherman Elementary School. Principal Kathleen Quigley will give Dr. Biden and Dr. Murthy an overview of Franklin Sherman Elementary School and its place in history as the kick-off site for the nationwide polio vaccine trial in 1954.

After the overview, they will proceed to the gymnasium where they will meet with Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu, Director of Health for the Fairfax County Health Department, and Dr. Raja'a Satouri, Deputy Director for Medical Services and COVID-19 Incident Commander for the Fairfax County Health Department. They will visit the observation area in the gymnasium where Dr. Biden and Dr. Murthy will greet with around 25 Franklin Sherman students who just received their COVID-19 vaccine and their families. Monday will be the first school-based clinic for children ages 5 to 11 put on by Fairfax County, which began vaccinating children last week.

The First Lady and the Surgeon General will deliver remarks in the cafeteria and will be introduced by Everett Munson, a 6th grade student at Franklin Sherman who studied the history of the polio vaccine and his school in one of his classes, and who just received his COVID-19 vaccine. The audience will consist of Franklin Sherman students who will have just received their vaccine and their parents.
As part of this push, over the following weeks the First Lady will visit pediatric COVID-19 vaccination clinics across the country, including at schools, children's hospitals, and other community sites.

FLOTUS TRAVELING STAFF
Anthony Bernal, Senior Advisor
Michael LaRosa, Press Secretary
Vanessa Lion, Deputy Policy Director
Jordan Montoya, Trip Director
Mary Wall, Senior Policy Advisor for COVID-19 Response
Eric Waldo, Director of Engagement, HHS

FLOTUS Pool Report #2 - Arrival and some quotes and color

FLOTUS arrived at 2:09 pm at the Franklin Sherman Elementary School. The First Lady was being greeted by the Principal Kathleen Quigley who told her a bit about the history of the school. (See background in the last mail.) There are 355 students at this school which was founded in 1915.

Being asked what she would say to hesitant parents, Flotus said: „They are great, effective. and free."
At 2:13pm, FLOTUS and the Surgeon General entered the gym where approximately 30 kids were sitting on chairs with their parents. Behind the First Lady there was a sign thst saud „You did it!" All kids in the room were vaccinated already. 260 kids will be vaccinated today, the majority is from this school. The vaccination started at 1:30pm.

FLOTUS, who was wearing at long red dress, asked if everyone gets vaccinated and then said: „Good for you!" After asking: „Did you all get your stickers?", she and the Surgeon General
handed out stickers to kids who hadn't received one.

After being briefed by Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu, Director of Health for the Fairfax County Health Department, FLOTUS said: „I think it's pretty impressive that the kids are so quiet!" And: „Thank you for being so great."

A boy named Vasav Ramineni read a letter to the First Lady. It said for example: „Thank you for being a teacher. I hope Covid is over soon and everyone gets vaccinated." FLOTUS was asked: „How did the letter make you feel?" She said: „Wonderful."

FLOTUS left the Gym at 2:28pm. She is going to speak now in the Cafeteria where around 50 parents are kids are waiting and some slow music is playing.

(Please excuse spelling errors.)

FLOTUS Pool Report #3 - Speech at the Cafeteria

FLOTUS and the Surgeon General entered the Cafeteria at 2:38pm. They were introduced by 6th grader Everett Munson who had studied the history of the polio vaccine and his school. At the end of his remarks, he suggested that everybody should get ice cream after being vaccinated. Everyone in the audience was already vaccinated and had a mask on.

Next to the podium, there were historic photos of polio vaccinations at this school.

The Surgeon General spoke before FLOTUS. He raised concerns about vaccine misinformation. He introduced the First Lady as a role model „and a friend".

At 2:50pm, the First Lady started her speech. She invited the kids to help her. „So, I know that getting vaccinated isn't always the fun thing to do. I don't like needles myself." The First Lady asked for a round of applause „for all brave kids who got their shot".

Below are excerpts of the speech provided by the OFL.

Pool was brought back to the van, we are heading back with the mororcade to the White House.

**EXCERPTS**
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
First Lady Jill Biden
Franklin Sherman Elementary School
McLean, VA
November 8, 2021
***

Today, I'm here to talk to parents. I'm a mom, too, and when you became a parent, there's a moment that we all go through—when you look at that baby, with eyes like saucers and the tiniest fingers, and you feel an overwhelming sense of love, deep in your bones…and absolute terror. Because you know that this fragile life is depending on you.

And from that moment on, you see the world differently—every step, every street corner, every bite of food is a danger that you never even noticed before.

So, we buy baby gates and cover our electrical outlets. We wrestle them into car seats no matter how much they complain.

We make them eat their vegetables and stuff them in winter coats and scarves until they can barely walk. We hold their hands to cross the street and teach them to always look both ways.

And after bedtime, when we're exhausted from the day and sure that, if we hear "can I have a glass of water" one more time, we will descend into a permanent madness.

Yet, we walk down the hall from their bedroom and feel a pang of gratitude, knowing that those dinner complaints and bedtime negotiations mean that everything is OK…that they are healthy and growing…that we are OK.

Parents, we do absolutely everything to protect our kids. And in this pandemic, you did. You figured out how to support their virtual learning while working your job. You found ways to create online playdates and birthday parties. You chose to get yourself vaccinated.

And even though there were times when you probably felt like no matter what you did it wasn't enough, I want you to know: You carried your family though this. You're doing an amazing job.

The President and I know how difficult this pandemic has been for your family.

I'm here today because we care about you and your children. Joe and our team have been working every day to give you what you need to keep your family safe in this pandemic. And parents, I'm so excited that, now, you have a new way to do just that: a vaccine for children, 5 and up.

So many of you have asked me over the last few months when this was coming.
And now, it's here—not just another way to protect your kids against COVID-19, but, as Dr. Murthy said, the best way.

So, here's what I want you to remember and share with other parents:

The vaccine is the best way to protect your children against COVID-19.

It's been thoroughly reviewed and rigorously tested.

It's safe.

It's free.

And it's available for every child in this country, five and up.

Parenthood and worrying go hand-in-hand. It's just what we do.

So, I can't promise you that the dangers of the world will become any less frightening. Just wait until your kids start driving! But with this vaccine, we can take away at least one of those worries. A big one.

From the day you held your sweet, fragile, little baby, you have made the choice, again and again, to keep your child safe. Giving your child the COVID-19 vaccine is your choice too.

So, make the decision to protect your children with the same vaccine that has already saved millions of lives.

Because nothing is more important than our children's health. It's up to us to keep them safe—and with this vaccine, we can.

Thank you.

FLOTUS Pool Report #4 - Back at the White House and photo

We arrived at the White House at 3:17pm, here is a picture I tweeted of FLOTUS giving her speech - and that's it from me! Enjoy the rest of your day.

https://twitter.com/berlin_juliane/status/1457804975766081536?s=21