Mike Penceand his wife,Karen Pence, have been inoculated against thecoronavirus.
The vice president, 61, and second lady, 63, received their doses of thePfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccinein Washington, D.C., Friday, just after 8 a.m. local time.
A livestream shared on Twittershowed Surgeon GeneralJerome Adamsreceiving the shot first (giving a thumbs-up to the camera right before), then Mrs. Pence and,finally, the vice president.
The White House announced Wednesday thatthe Pences would publicly receive the vaccinein an effort “to promote [its] safety and efficacy.”
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TheFDA issued an emergency use authorizationof the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine on Dec. 11, and itsdistribution across the countrybegan over last weekend.
PresidentDonald Trump"is absolutely open to taking the vaccine," White House Press SecretaryKayleigh McEnanytold reporters Tuesday. But she noted, as White Houseofficials have previously, that Trump, 74, previously contracted and recovered from the virus, which lessened the urgency.
“He will receive the vaccine as soon as his medical team determines it’s best,” said McEnany, 32. “His priority is frontline workers [and] those in long-term-care facilities, and he wants to make sure that the vulnerable get access first.”
Dr.Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious disease, saidthis week he recommendedthat Pence, Trump and President-electJoe Bidenand Vice President-electKamala Harrisall receive a vaccine quickly.
“You still want to protect people who are very important to our country right now,” he said Tuesday. “For security reasons, I really feel strongly that we should get them vaccinated as soon as we possibly can.”
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images
RELATED VIDEO: President Trump And Former Vice President Joe Biden Discuss COVID-19 Vaccine At Final Presidential Debate
Former PresidentsGeorge W. Bush,Bill ClintonandBarack Obamahave all alsovolunteered to take the vaccine publiclyto attest to its safety to Americans.
“People like Anthony Fauci, who I know and I’ve worked with, I trust completely,” Obama, 59, said in aninterview with SiriusXM host Joe Madisonearlier this month. “So, if Anthony Fauci tells me this vaccine is safe, and can vaccinate, you know, immunize you from getting COVID, absolutely, I’m going to take it.”
Meanwhile, a United States Food and Drug Administration panelendorsed the second vaccine from Moderna,which will likely be made available to the American public this week. Moderna’s vaccine is94 percent effective at preventing COVID-19and 100 percent effective at preventing severe cases of the virus, the company said last month.
As of Friday morning, there have been more than 17.2 million reported COVID-19 cases and at least 310,935 deaths from coronavirus-related illnesses in the United States, according to aNew York Timestracker.
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source: people.com
