Jill Biden teams up with NFL great to push vaccinations

HOUSTON (AP) — Jill Biden played offense Tuesday in the fight against COVID-19, teaming up with an NFL Hall of Fame running back and America's second gentleman to encourage Texans to get vaccinated against the disease.

The first lady and Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, met in Houston at a vaccination event sponsored by the Astros as part of a monthlong effort by Major League Baseball, featuring incentives that included tickets to future games and a replica World Series ring.

“It's safe. It's effective. It's free,” said the first lady, who has been touring the country in a push to help boost the nation's vaccination rate. Standing with Emhoff, she said, “We want to encourage everybody here in Texas to go get the vaccine.”

Emhoff, who has also been visiting vaccination sites nationwide, said the vaccines work.

“Save yourself. Save others. It's the right thing to do,” he said at the event at Houston's Union Station. The pair later took seats at Minute Maid Park, the home ballpark for the Astros, to take in several innings of the team's matchup against the Baltimore Orioles.

Earlier Tuesday, the first lady was in Dallas encouraging Texans to get vaccinated during an appearance with former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith.

“Today, we are finally getting back the things that we lost. But as far as we've come, we're not done yet,” the first lady said in brief remarks after she and Smith toured a pop-up vaccination clinic at Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas.

Smith used a sports metaphor to make the same point.

“We're in the fourth quarter, and the game is far from over,” he said after the tour as they addressed a group of people who had just been vaccinated.

The first lady flew to Texas as part of President Joe Biden’s campaign to...