Lastest COVID-19 updates: Joe Biden to get COVID-19 vaccine publicly next week

COVID-19 updates today: Joe Biden will recieve COVID-19 vaccine next week. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence already got the jab. FDA approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for use as the second vaccine in the US after Pfizer's.

Jasmine Le

[email protected] December 19, 2020 | 09:39

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Lastest COVID 19 updates: Biden to get COVID-19 vaccine publicly next week

Joe Biden is expected to get the vaccine next week (Photo: EPA/EFE)

President-elect Joe Biden will get the coronavirus vaccine as soon as next week, transition officials said on Wednesday (16 December), as US authorities try to build public confidence in a measure that promises to stanch the deadly pandemic.

Meanwhile, Vice President got the jab on Friday. The injection was filmed and live-streamed on TV.

"I didn't feel a thing," Pence said. "Well done."

Pence, who wore a short-sleeved shirt and a face mask, sat in a chair next to an American flag and under a sign that said “SAFE and EFFECTIVE.”

He received the recently approved vaccine developed by Pfizer that is being distributed throughout the country.

"Karen and I hope this step today will be a source of confidence and of comfort to the American people," Pence said. "These days of hardship and heartbreak will, in a day not too far in the future, be put in the past."

Acknowledging that coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are still rising across the country, Pence said the way through the pandemic is "vigilance and a vaccine." He encouraged the public to "continue to do your part" through hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing while the vaccine is being administered.

Pence's vaccine, the first of a two-shot series that will be repeated in 21 days, was administered by staff from the Walter Reed National Medical Center at a room on the White House complex.

He gave a thumbs up to the medical technicians after being told it's normal if his arm becomes sore but he should seek medical care if anything else happens.

Mike Pence got the shot (Video: Bloomberg Politics)

Pence's wife, Karen, was also vaccinated as was Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

According to Euractiv, the plan to make Biden and Pence’s injection publicly is an effort to boost confidence in the safety of the vaccine, which will become widely available to the public next year.

“I don’t want to get ahead of the line but I want to make sure that we demonstrate to the American people that it is safe to take,” Biden said at an event earlier on Wednesday. Biden, 78, is in a high-risk category for the coronavirus because of his age.

Psaki said that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, would receive their vaccinations the following week.

Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper earlier this month that he would be "happy to" receive a coronavirus vaccine once Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said it was safe, and that he would get the injection in a public setting to demonstrate his confidence in it. Harris also said in the interview that she would get the vaccine.

As reported by 6abc, Fauci told ABC's "Good Morning America" this week that his "strong recommendation" would be that Biden and Harris get vaccinated "as soon as we possibly can." He also recommended that President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence receive the vaccination.

Pence, second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams were administered the vaccine at an on-camera event Friday morning. The Trump administration said having Pence receive the vaccine in public was part of the government's efforts to build confidence among the public in the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

Biden has vowed to make the fight against the virus his top priority when he takes office on 20 January. President Donald Trump, who lost the 3 November election to Biden, has frequently downplayed the severity of the pandemic, which has killed 304,187 Americans so far, and feuded with his top public health officials.

Trump will get the vaccine himself as soon as his medical team determines it is best, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Tuesday. The president was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 this fall.

Vice President Mike Pence receiving a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington (Photo: AP)

Initial doses Pfizer’s vaccine, which became available in the United States this week, have been set aside for doctors, nurses and other frontline medical workers, along with residents and staff of nursing homes and some US government officials.

US officials aim to get 2.9 million doses of the vaccine, developed by Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE, by week’s end.

One health worker in Alaska had a severe allergic reaction after receiving the vaccine, officials said on Wednesday in what is believed to be the only adverse reaction so far in the United States.

A significant portion of the American public has shown disdain for basic public health recommendations, such as wearing a mask, and only 61% of respondents in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said they were open to getting vaccinated.

Scientists believe that “herd immunity” against the virus could be achieved once about 70% of the population has been exposed to it, either through natural infection or a vaccine.

Some 16.7 million Americans have been infected so far, equal to roughly 5% of the population

FDA approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in the US

FDA has approved Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. The vaccine — the second approved for use in the U.S. behind Pfizer and BioNTech’s — bolsters the U.S. supply of doses. The potentially lifesaving shots are desperately needed to fend off the pandemic that has taken more than 300,000 American lives and overwhelmed hospitals.

Moderna vaccine (Photo: WBUR)

According to CNBC, the FDA’s emergency use authorization Friday approves the federal government’s plan to distribute roughly 5.9 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine to 64 states, territories and major cities across the nation next week.

“We likely will see shots in the arm by the very early part of next week, I would hope Monday or Tuesday,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on the “Today” show on Friday morning.

President Donald Trump said in a tweet: “Congratulations, the Moderna vaccine is now available!”

President Trump's tweet (Photo: Captured)

In addition to Moderna’s vaccine, the U.S. also plans to send out 2 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine after 2.9 million doses were cleared for shipment this week, Gen. Gustave Perna, who oversees logistics for the Operation Warp Speed vaccine project, said Monday. Both vaccines require two doses three to four weeks apart. Moderna’s Covid vaccine is its first-ever FDA authorized product.

“With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing vast numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States each day,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in a statement.

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