Pence gets COVID-19 vaccine, calls it a "miracle"

Vice President Mike Pence was vaccinated for COVID-19 on Friday in a live-television event aimed at reassuring Americans the vaccine is safe. He celebrated the shot as "a medical miracle" that could eventually contain the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Pence, the highest-profile official yet to receive the vaccine, has taken an increasingly visible role in highlighting the safety of the shot, including touring a vaccine production facility this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both said Thursday that they will get vaccinated in the next few days. President-elect Joe Biden expects to receive his shot as soon as next week.

Pence said he "didn't feel a thing" when he was injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech's shot. "As the Christmas holiday approaches, this is always a season of hope. We gather here today at the end of a historic week to affirm to the American people that hope is on the way," Pence said. "And Karen and I were more than happy to step forward before this week was out to take the safe and effective coronavirus vaccine that we have secured and produced for the American people."

Pence's wife Karen and Surgeon General Jerome Adams also received shots during the televised White House event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Adams, who is Black, emphasized the importance of representation in outreach to at-risk communities and encouraged Americans to avoid disinformation around the vaccines. Pence also mentioned the expected FDA approval for Moderna's vaccine to provide reinforcements largest vaccination campaign in the nation's history.

"When it is approved, we expect later today we'll be in a position to ship five point nine million doses of vaccines all across the country next week," Pence said. "In fact, under Operation Warp Speed, we are poised to have a vaccine for 20 million Americans before the end of December. It is truly a medical miracle and an inspiration to people across this country."

Five days into the huge vaccination effort, and after his administration helped deliver vaccinations earlier than even some in his administration thought possible, President Donald Trump has held no public events to trumpet the rollout. He hasn't been inoculated himself.

A survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about half of Americans want to get the vaccine as soon as possible. Another quarter of the public isn't sure, while the remaining quarter say they aren't interested. Some simply oppose vaccines in general. Others are concerned that the injections have been rushed and want to see how the rollout goes.