Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen were publicly vaccinated today against the coronavirus. Wearing short-sleeves, the vice president took the shot on camera at Walter Reed Medical Center. Afterwards, he called the vaccine — and its timing — “a medical miracle.”
This comes after the Moderna vaccine just got the green light from an independent advisory panel at the FDA on Thursday. Final approval could come within hours and then around 6-million doses will start to ship to more than 3,000 locations.
The vaccine is 94 percent effective, and it can be stored in regular freezers so it’s easier to distribute to rural areas.
The FDA advisory panel voted 20 to 0 to recommend emergency use. They did note some people showed minor reactions but did not identify any safety concerns.
“Moderna certainly will be available soon and have the same level of efficacy,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci. “The same safety profile and virtually everything the same about that. So it wouldn’t be much difference which (vaccine) you take.”
Pfizer’s version is already on the road, being given at nearly 600 locations across the country. Between the two vaccines, officials are expecting roughly 20 million doses will be distributed by the end of the year.
The news comes as the US marked its deadliest 24-hour period – more than 3,600 Americans reportedly perishing in one day from the virus.
The war against the virus continues on another front as well as the shutdowns due to the pandemic continue to hurt the economy and millions of Americans are suffering.
Thursday’s job report shows 885,000 applied for unemployment.
Lawmakers are now working to pass another round of relief. A roughly $900 billion measure has bipartisan support.
It would provide $300 a week in unemployment benefits and $600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans. It also includes eviction protection and billions for small businesses and vaccine distribution.
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