Biden receives his booster shot, the 1st presidential COVID-19 vaccination on camera

Days after a booster shot of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was approved, President Biden has received his third dose on camera.

Biden received a Pfizer vaccine booster at the White House Monday after the FDA and the CDC approved the additional shots for millions of Americans, including those 65 and older, six months after their second dose. "Now, I know it doesn't look like it, but I am over 65," Biden joked.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"The bottom line is if you're fully vaccinated, you're highly protected now from severe illness, even if you get COVID-19," Biden said. "You're safe, and we're going to do everything we can to keep it that way with the boosters."

The Biden administration had initially planned to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans starting in September, though an FDA advisory panel ultimately recommended against approving the boosters for everyone over 16 for now. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cleared the booster shots for millions of Americans, including those 65 and older, those 50 and older with underlying health conditions, and those at higher risk because of their jobs or because they live in long-term care facilities.

Biden stressed at the White House, though, that while COVID-19 boosters "are important," the "most important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated." While taking questions from reporters, he said first lady Jill Biden will also soon receive a COVID-19 booster shot.

Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.