President-elect Joe Biden will receive the first dose of the coronavirus vaccination on live television Dec. 21, in order to show the vaccine is safe and effective.
The first shots of the Moderna vaccine will also be given out Monday, giving hope to a nation that has been turned upside down due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to The Guardian, the first shipments were packed and shipped from Tennessee. Like Pfizer’s vaccine, Moderna’s is a two-shot combination. However, Moderna’s is easier to store as it doesn’t have to be kept in extremely cold temperatures.
Biden said in a statement he wanted to make sure American’s know the vaccine is safe to take by taking it himself.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure we demonstrate to the American people that it is safe to take,” Biden said.
Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell received the vaccine publicly last week and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband will receive the vaccine later this week. Live vaccinations are an effort to boost trust in the vaccine in order to get more Americans to take it.
According to an Associated Press poll, only 50% of adults said they would take the vaccine. One-quarter of respondents said they wouldn’t take the vaccine while another quarter said they weren’t sure if they would take it.
One person noticeably missing from the politicians who’ve taken the vaccine, outgoing president Donald Trump, who said on Twitter earlier this month he was not “scheduled to receive the vaccine,” but was “looking forward to doing it at the appropriate time.”
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 320,000 Americans and infected more than 16 million. The pandemic also sent the nation spiraling into a recession as jobs and entire industries have been affected as a result.