Vice President Mike Pence receives the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Vice President Mike Pence received a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday during an event to boost public confidence in its safety and effectiveness. Vaccinations against the coronavirus began in the US on Monday, with some of the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine being given to health care workers in New York.
“I didn’t feel a thing,” Pence said in remarks after being given the vaccine, adding that all Americans have a role to play. “The way through this challenging time is vigilance and a vaccine.”
The vaccine rollout has begun as the US crossed 300,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week. Experts say it’s critical that people continue wearing a mask and practicing social distancing until enough Americans get vaccinated, which is still several months away.
The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorized Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine — which will join the Pfizer vaccine already being administered — for emergency use in the US as soon as today, after it was backed by an advisory panel on Thursday.
“The American people can be confident — we have one, and perhaps within hours, two, safe coronavirus vaccines for you and your family,” Pence said during the event.
Pence was administered the shot, along with second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adam, by a medical team from Walter Reed during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House.
