Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris publicly received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a Tuesday morning televised event.
Harris now joins President-Elect Joe Biden and numerous other prominent politicians in having received the vaccine. Vice President Mike Pence received the vaccine in a similar event prior to Christmas. Harris described the shot as “relatively painless.” Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is set to receive the vaccine later on Tuesday.
HAPPENING NOW: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris receives her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on camera as part of an effort to build public confidence in the shots.
Her husband, Doug Emhoff, is also set to receive the vaccine on Tuesday. https://t.co/M1ZPl0acQM pic.twitter.com/s9xcZT8VQf
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 29, 2020
“I want to encourage everyone to get the vaccine. It is relatively painless. It happens really quickly. It is safe,” Harris said after taking the shot. (RELATED: Brett Giroir Says Trump Taking Vaccine Would ‘Generate More Confidence’)
Harris is among the first major public figures to receive the Moderna vaccine instead of the original Pfizer vaccine, which received approval more than a week earlier. Both Pence and Biden received doses of the Pfizer vaccine, along with numerous members of Congress.
“The scientists and the people who put this together, the front line workers, the people who were the ones who actually did the clinical work, it’s just amazing,” Biden told reporters after taking the vaccine last week. “I think the administration deserves some credit getting this off the ground with Operation Warp Speed. I also think that it’s worth saying that this gives great hope. I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine. There is nothing to worry about.”
Pence said he “didn’t feel a thing” when he took the first dose of the vaccine on Dec. 18. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses roughly three weeks apart.