Fauci recommends 'very important' people like Trump and Pence get vaccinated now

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious disease scientist, on Tuesday recommended President Trump and Vice President Pence each get a COVID-19 vaccine so they'll have protection in their roles as U.S. and world leaders.

Trump has contracted and recovered from the virus, which some scientists think will keep enough antibodies in the human body to result in immunity. But Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, seemed unsure of how long those antibodies last.

"You still want to protect people who are, you know, very important to our country right now," Fauci said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "Even though the president himself was infected and he has likely antibodies that likely would be protective, we're not sure how long that protection lasts."

"I would recommend that he get vaccinated, as well as the vice president," said Fauci, also a member of the White House coronavirus task force. He also said Joe Biden and Kamala Harris should receive the vaccine before entering into presidency in January.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first coronavirus vaccine, under emergence-use status. The first shots were administered Monday.

Original plans to give White House staff and top government officials primary access to the vaccine were scratched by Trump earlier this week to allow medical workers and the most vulnerable to get vaccinated first.