Mike Pence gets COVID-19 vaccine on live TV

Vice President Mike Pence has received a dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, and he did so on live television.

Pence at a White House event on Friday morning received a shot of the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech that recently began to be administered to high-priority groups in the United States. Second Lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams received a shot of the vaccine on Friday morning, as well.

"I didn't feel a thing," Pence said.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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 vice president received the vaccine, which he will need a second dose of, on camera in order to build confidence in it, and numerous other officials have said they plan to receive theirs on camera too. He described the development of the vaccine in less than a year's time as a "medical miracle" but assured Americans that "while we cut red tape, we cut no corners."

"History will record that this week was the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic," Pence also said. "But, with cases rising across the country, with hospitalizations rising across the country, we have a ways to go."

Adams said Friday that "we must now do the necessary work to go from vaccines to vaccinations," adding that "working to combat mistrust and misinformation will be critical if we are to ensure the equitable protection of all Americans against COVID-19." Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, also described Pence and Adams receiving the vaccine on camera as an "important" symbol to "tell the rest of the country, the time is now to step to the plate and, when your time comes, to get vaccinated." Brendan Morrow