Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty
Vice President-electKamala Harriswas the latest American lawmaker to be publicly inoculated with the novel coronavirus vaccine, receiving her first dose of theModerna vaccineon television Tuesday.
“That was easy,” Harris said after receiving her shot. “Thank you. I barely felt it.”
Harris then thanked the healthcare workers at United Medical Center, noting that they serve a community “that is often overlooked.”
“I want to encourage everyone to get the vaccine. It is relatively painless, it happens really quickly, it is safe,” Harris said.
Harris added that her husband, Doug Emhoff, would also receive the Moderna vaccine later in the day.
“Literally, this is about saving lives. It’s about saving lives. I trust the scientists. And it is the scientists who created and approved this vaccine,” Harris said. “So I urge everyone: When it is your turn, get vaccinated. It’s about saving your life, the life of your family members, and the life of your community.”
The vice president-elect’s inoculation came one week after President-elect Joe Biden receivedhis first doseof thePfizer-BioNTech novel coronavirus vaccineon live television.
After receiving his shot from Delaware’s ChristianaCare Hospital, Biden told reporters that healthcare workers were owed a debt of gratitude.
“The scientists and the people who put this together, the frontline workers, the people who were the ones who actually did the clinical work,” Biden said. “Just amazing … We owe you big. We really do.”
The soon-to-be president added that he was publicly receiving his shot to “demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it’s available, to take the vaccine.”
The president- and vice president-elect join a range of high-profile lawmakers who are being publicly inoculated as a means of projecting confidence in the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.
Like Biden and Harris, Vice PresidentMike Penceand Second LadyKaren Pencewere also vaccinated on live television.
House SpeakerNancy Pelosi, Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnelland several other members of Congress have publicly shared photos of themselves receiving the vaccine.
Former presidents Bush, Obama, and Clinton have also all volunteered topublicly take the vaccine, to prove its safety.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, each administered several weeks apart, in order to reach 95 percent efficacy. It is unclear when Harris or Biden will receive their second doses.
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source: people.com
