Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, speaks after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence received the COVID-19 vaccine in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC on December 18, 2020.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen received vaccinations for Covid-19 on national live television on Friday, and Dr. Anthony Fauci said he hoped to be vaccinated next week.
“I didn’t feel anything,” said Pence after receiving the shot. “Make no mistake; it’s a medical miracle.”
At the same time, General Surgeon Jerome Adams rolled up his sleeve and got vaccinated. The couple and the surgeon general wore masks.
Minutes earlier, Fauci told NBC’s “TODAY” that he wanted to be vaccinated next week.
“I’m ready to go,” the director of the National Allergy and Infectious Disease Institute told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. “I’m going to get vaccinated as soon as possible. I hope it will be in the next few days by early next week.”
Fauci previously said he will be publicly vaccinated to encourage vaccine uptake as surveys show a large proportion of Americans are reluctant to get vaccinated. Only about half of Americans say they want a shot, while a quarter aren’t sure they’ll get one and another quarter say they won’t get one, according to an Associated Press-Norc poll, the latest Week was released.
Fauci said he was waiting for the National Institutes of Health to get their allocation of the vaccine before getting his shot. The agency’s vaccine shipment is expected to arrive next week, he said.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence receives the COVID-19 vaccine on December 18, 2020 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration last week approved Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for use in people aged 16 and over. The U.S. rollout began Monday as hospitals marked the first vaccinations in ceremonies across the country. The FDA is also expected to approve Moderna’s Covid vaccine this week, which will bolster the nation’s supply of doses.
It’s a “bittersweet” moment, Fauci said on Friday.
“We’re sitting here and talking about vaccines, which is so positive,” he said. “But all of this is kind of bittersweet, because at the same time as we advance the final answer to that question, we are going through very, very difficult times.”
As the US rolls out the vaccine, the country continues to report a staggering number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths every day. According to the Johns Hopkins University, the country reported more than 233,200 new infections and more than 3,200 deaths on Thursday.
Based on a seven-day average, the US has more than 2,600 Covid-related deaths daily, according to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data, up more than 16% from a week.
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