President-elect Joseph R. Biden and his wife Jill both received a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday as federal officials try to emphasize the safety and efficacy of getting vaccinated.
Mr. Biden received his shot with cameras rolling at ChristianaCare Hospital in Newark, Delaware.
The president-elect gave the Trump administration credit for moving so quickly on vaccine development.
“I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it’s available, to take the vaccine,” Mr. Biden said. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
He urged the public to continue to wear masks and said people shouldn’t travel if it’s not necessary.
“It’s one thing to have the vaccine show up at a hospital,” he said. “It’s another thing to get the vaccine from that vial into a needle into an arm, and there’s millions of people out there [who] are going to need this — and frontline workers first.”
Mrs. Biden was vaccinated earlier Monday, but joined her husband for his shot.
Vice President-elect Sen. Kamala D. Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are supposed to get their first vaccine doses next week.
Mr. Biden’s team said medical experts recommended that Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris stagger the first doses for security purposes.
Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, an incoming White House senior adviser and a member of Mr. Biden’s inner circle, tested positive last week after he and Mr. Biden were at the same event in Georgia.
Mr. Biden’s team said the two were never in close contact and that Mr. Richmond’s diagnosis didn’t have anything to do with the timing of Mr. Biden’s vaccination.
With millions of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines set to be distributed in the coming weeks, the Trump administration has launched a public campaign to urge people to get vaccinated when it’s their turn on the priority list.
Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence, along with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, received vaccine shots with cameras rolling on Friday.
The top four congressional leaders — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — have all received vaccines as well.
The White House says President Trump is willing to get a vaccine but that he wants to save the initial doses for frontline workers.
Dr. Adams also said Monday that Mr. Trump’s doctors are advising him to wait a bit since the president received special antibody treatment after contracting COVID-19 in October.
