President-elect Joe Biden is inoculated against the coronavirus after receiving his second COVID-19 vaccine dose.
Biden and his wife, incoming first lady Jill Biden, got their first shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec. 21. The vaccine, approved before Moderna’s iteration, is 95% effective seven days following patients’ second dose, received three weeks after their initial jab.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and husband Doug Emhoff are expected to get their second shot next week. Public health and national security experts recommended their doses be staggered in case they experienced any side effects.
Biden’s inoculation comes as he prepares to take over responsibility for the vaccines’ rollout.
The Trump administration has been faulted for struggling to coordinate the vaccines’ distribution, a process complicated by their two-dose and storage requirements. Trump officials set the ambitious goal of inoculating 20 million people by the end of last year, falling well short of their aim.
Biden wants 100 million people inoculated within his first 100 days in office after he’s inaugurated on Jan. 20. Last week, he announced a change in strategy to meet that target: His team will release shots being held in reserve for patients’ second shots, a major turnaround in logistical policy.
