Kamala Harris Will Receive Her First Dose of Covid-19 Vaccine Today

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff will receive their first round of the Covid-19 vaccine today. Harris will receive the vaccine live on camera from Washington, D.C., a transition official said.

Harris’s inoculation comes a week after President-elect Joe Biden received the first round of the vaccine. Jennifer Psaki, a transition spokesperson, said Biden and Harris staggered their shots at the advice of medical experts: If either of them experienced any side-effects, they would not experience them on the same day. Harris will likely use the television appearance as an opportunity to ensure Americans that the vaccine is safe and to ensure them to get their shots as soon as it becomes available to them.

2,127,143 Americans have received their first round of the Covid-19 vaccine according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 Data Tracker as the world embarks on the largest vaccination campaign in history.

President Donald Trump has not yet received a vaccination. White House officials said he is still discussing timing with his doctors.

“When the time is right, I’m sure he will remain willing to take it,” White House spokesperson Brian Morgenstern said on Friday. “It’s just something we’re working through.”

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president wants to show that the nation is prioritizing the most vulnerable members of the population first.

“The president wants to send a parallel message, which is, you know, our long-term care facility residents and our frontline workers are paramount in importance, and he wants to set an example in that regard,” she said.

Alan Ryland

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.