President-elect Joe Biden has received his first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, saying he was getting the jab to show Americans it is "safe to take".

Mr Biden joins a growing number of political leaders getting the jab, including Vice-President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

On Sunday, the roll-out began for a second vaccine, by Moderna, which was approved last week.

More than 500,000 Americans are said to have now been vaccinated.

"I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it's available to take the vaccine," Mr Biden said from Newark, Delaware, where he got the jab live on TV. "There's nothing to worry about."

He said the Trump administration "deserves some credit" for launching the country's vaccine programme.

Mr Biden's wife, Jill Biden, received her first dose earlier in the day, the president-elect said. Mr Biden's running mate, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are expected to receive their first shots next week.

The Biden team has set a goal of 100 million Covid-19 vaccinations in the US during the administration's first 100 days in the White House.

During the pandemic, the US has recorded more than 18 million cases and 319,000 deaths.

President Donald Trump, who spent three days in hospital with the coronavirus in October, has not said when he intends to get the vaccine.

The president is now one of last of the country's top elected officials to have not received the first of the course of two jabs.

"I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time," Mr Trump wrote in a 13 December tweet.

Some of his advisers have defended the delay, saying he is still protected by the treatments he received to beat the virus.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1212 HRS, DEC 22, 2020
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