Vice President Mike Pence.Photo: Steve Cannon/AP/Shutterstock
Vice PresidentMike Pencewill publicly receive thePfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccinethis Friday in an effort “to promote the safety and efficacy” of the vaccine.
Pence, 61, and Second LadyKaren Pence"will publicly receive aCOVID-19vaccine" to “build confidence among the American people,” the White House announced Wednesday.
They will be given the vaccine at the White House; more details are expected.
TheFDA issued an emergency use authorizationof the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine on Friday, and itsdistribution across the countrybegan over the weekend.
PresidentDonald Trump"is absolutely open to taking the vaccine," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Tuesday. But she noted, as White House officialshave previously, that Trump 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,” McEnany said.
“is priority is frontline workers, those in longterm care facilities, and he wants to make sure that the vulnerable get access first,” she said.
Dr.Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious disease,said thisweek he recommends that 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.”
“For security reasons, I really feel strongly that we should get them vaccinated as soon as we possibly can,” Fauci said Tuesday.
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A person receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.FRANK AUGSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty
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.”
From left: former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.Theo Wargo/WireImage; Myrna M. Suarez/Getty Images; Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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“It didn’t feel any different from taking any other vaccine,” she said after receiving the shot. “I hope this marks the beginning to the end of a very painful time in our history.”
As of Thursday morning, there have been more than 17 million reported COVID-19 cases and at least 307,642 deaths from coronavirus-related illnesses in the United States, according to aNew York Timestracker.
source: people.com
