White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said that people shouldn’t have to know someone who is sick and hospitalised to get vaccinated.

       “We don’t want that to be the case,” Ms Psaki told reporters on Friday during a press briefing.

       “Certainly our objective is to communicate to people this is not a political issue, it is not a partisan issue, this is about protecting lives,” Ms Psaki said.

       Ms Psaki’s words come as more Republicans and conservative media figures push for vaccinations. She added that five states with the highest case rates – including Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada – had a higher rate of new vaccinations compared to the national average.

       Recommended NFL teams told they will face forfeits for Covid-19 outbreaks among non-vaccinated players

       Similarly, Ms Psaki was asked about the NFL’s new policy that teams will have to forfeit games if there is an outbreak among non-vaccinated players.

       “That’s their role to do,” she said. “We certainly believe that the biggest takeaway is that getting vaccinated is our ticket back to normal.”