WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence will receive the Covid-19 vaccine in a televised appearance Friday in an effort to promote safety and boost public confidence in its effectiveness.
The vaccine is given to Pence, second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House.
The White House said in a statement earlier this week that Pence, who heads the coronavirus task force, hopes to “promote the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and build trust in the American people.”
It’s unclear, meanwhile, if and when President Donald Trump will get the Covid-19 vaccine. Trump has said he looks forward to getting the vaccine “at the right time.” He and first lady Melania Trump recovered from Covid in October.
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to receive the vaccine next week, a transition official told NBC News.
“I don’t want to be in the forefront, but I want to make sure we show the American people it’s safe to take,” Biden told reporters.
Pence will receive the vaccine just days after the first shipments are delivered to health care facilities across the country and to frontline workers and nursing home residents. It’s also because the US set records for daily coronavirus cases and deaths this week.
The disease caused by the coronavirus has killed more than 300,000 people and infected more than 16.3 million people in the US alone.
In other developments:
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Said Thursday that she, under the direction of the attending physician’s office on Capitol Hill and “with confidence in the vaccine,” said she expects to get it in the coming days.
- The attending physician offered Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., The vaccine and told members of Congress not to wait to receive the vaccine. “My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: There is no reason you should delay using this vaccine. The benefit far outweighs any minor risk.”
- The Carter Center said in a statement that former President Jimmy Carter “looks forward to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to him.” All other living former presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, have also said they plan to take over as well.
