President-elect Joe Biden received the coronavirus vaccine on Monday morning, following the suit of various congressional leaders. Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy all publicly received the vaccine.
Biden said in a statement released on Friday that he hoped to “build confidence” in the scientific process.
"This is about more than politics. This is about saving lives. I look forward to receiving the vaccine publicly on Monday and continuing to build confidence in the scientific process. Vaccines don’t save lives, vaccinations do."
Ahead of receiving the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, Biden assured Americans that "there's nothing to worry about" regarding the vaccine.
Biden gets the vaccine: ‘We owe these folks an awful lot … People should be prepared, when it’s available, to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about’ pic.twitter.com/UnjUWJUuSP
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) December 21, 2020
President-elect Biden receives the first dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine, administered by nurse practitioner Tabe Masa pic.twitter.com/pBILoe8IDv
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) December 21, 2020
Asked about Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's groundbreaking vaccine development program, the president-elect said that the outgoing administration deserves "some credit" for the accelerated vaccine development.
BIDEN: "I think that the administration deserves some credit for getting this off the ground with Operation Warp Speed..."
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) December 21, 2020