President-elect Joe Biden will receive his first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine next week, as Vice President Mike Pence and US Congressional leaders began receiving their shots on Friday.
Biden and his wife Jill will roll up their sleeves for a jab on Monday in Delaware for all to see in order "to send a clear message to the public that it's safe," his spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
Vice president-elect Kamala Harris and her husband will receive it after Christmas due to security and medical protocols, Psaki added.
Current Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence were both vaccinated at a building near the White House on live television on Friday morning.
"The American people can be confident. We have one, and perhaps within hours two, safe vaccines," Pence said during the broadcast.
"I didn't feel a thing. Well done," he also remarked after receiving the shot.
The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus, which can cause Covid-19, were administered in the US on Monday.
On Thursday, an expert panel recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) move forward with the approval of a second vaccine, created by the US biotech company Moderna.
Final authorization was expected to be granted Friday.
Emergency use
Once approved for emergency use, around 5.9 million doses of the vaccine could be shipped by next week, according to the Department of Defense.
The country's top infectious disease specialist, Anthony Fauci, has urged President Donald Trump, Pence, Biden, and Harris to all get vaccinated as quickly as possible for security reasons.
The White House, however, said that Trump, who was hospitalized with Covid-19 in October, would get vaccinated when his medical doctors deem it is necessary.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, also received the vaccination on Friday.
"Vaccines are how we beat this virus," McConnell wrote in a tweet.
"Now back to continue fighting for a rescue package including a lot more money for distribution so more Americans can receive it as fast as possible."
McConnell and Pelosi are currently negotiating an economic relief package for American affected by the coronavirus. The negotiations have been dragging on for months, even as many unemployed people in the US lost their unemployment benefits.
