[ad_1]
NEWARK, Delaware – President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television Monday as part of a growing effort to convince the American public that vaccines are safe.
The president-elect took a dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a hospital not far from his home in Delaware, hours after his wife, Jill Biden, did the same. The injections arrived the same day that a second vaccine, produced by Moderna, will begin arriving in the states. It joins Pfizer’s in the nation’s arsenal against the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now killed more than 317,000 people in the United States and changed lives around the world.
“I’m ready,” said Biden, who was dosed at a hospital in Newark, Delaware. The president-elect rolled the left sleeve of his turtleneck up to his shoulder and then declined the option of counting to three before having the needle inserted into his left arm.
“Go ahead when you’re ready,” he told the nurse practitioner who gave him the injection.
Biden emphasized the safety of the vaccine, saying that President Donald Trump’s administration “deserves some credit” for getting the vaccine distribution process “off the ground.”
“I am doing this to show that people should be prepared when it is available to receive the vaccine.” “There is nothing to worry about.”
However, he noted that the distribution of the vaccine “will take time” and urged Americans to take precautions during the Christmas season to prevent the spread of the virus, including wearing masks.
“If you don’t have to travel, don’t travel,” he said. “It’s really important.”
Biden also thanked the health workers and praised and nudged Tabe Mase, the nurse practitioner who administered her first dose of the vaccine.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband are expected to receive their first injections next week.
Other senior government officials have been in the first wave of Americans getting vaccinated against Covid-19 as part of the largest vaccination campaign in the nation’s history.
Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, and other lawmakers received doses Friday. They chose to publicize their injections as part of a campaign to convince Americans that the vaccines are safe and effective amid skepticism, especially among Republicans.
President Donald Trump is discussing with his doctors when to take the vaccine, the White House said. He tweeted earlier this month that he was “not scheduled” to receive the vaccine, but that he hoped “to do so at the right time.”
The White House has offered another reason to wait, saying Trump was showing his support for the most vulnerable to get vaccinated first.
Trump was hospitalized with Covid-19 in October and received an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment to which he attributed his rapid recovery. An advisory board for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that people who received such treatment must wait at least 90 days to get vaccinated to avoid any potential interference.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, and other experts have recommended that Trump be vaccinated without delay as a precautionary measure. (AP)
[ad_2]
