Pence receives Covid vaccine in TV appearance

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence is set to receive the Covid-19 vaccine during a televised appearance on Friday in a bid to promote its safety and boost public confidence in its effectiveness.

The vaccine is administered to Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams in Eisenhower’s 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 effectiveness of the vaccine and build confidence among the American people.”

It is not known, however, if and when President Donald Trump will receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Trump said he hoped to receive the vaccine “at the appropriate time.” He and First Lady Melania Trump recovered from Covid in October.

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to receive the vaccine as early as next week, a transition official told NBC News.

“I don’t want to get ahead, but I want to make sure that we demonstrate to the American people that it is safe to take,” Biden told reporters.

Pence receives the vaccine just days after the first consignments have been delivered to healthcare facilities across the country and handed over to frontline workers and nursing home residents. It also comes as the United States set records this week for daily coronavirus cases and deaths.

The disease caused by the coronavirus has killed more than 300,000 people and infected more than 16.3 million in the United States alone.

In other developments:

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Said Thursday that, under the direction of the Capitol Hill attending physician’s office and “with confidence in the vaccine,” she is expected to receive it within the next few days.
• The attending physician offered the vaccine to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., And told members of Congress not to wait to receive the vaccine. “My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: there is no reason why you should postpone getting this vaccine. The benefit far outweighs any small risk.”
• The Carter Center said in a statement that former President Jimmy Carter “looks forward to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to him.” All the other living former presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have also said they plan to take it as well.