Joe Biden gets Covid-19 vaccine go on TV
President-elect Joe Biden has received his first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, saying he was obtaining the jab to show Americans it is "safe to take".
Mr Biden joins an increasing number of political leaders obtaining the jab, including Vice-President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
On Sunday, the roll-out began for a second vaccine, by Moderna, that was approved last week.
More than 500,000 Americans are thought to have been vaccinated.
"I'm doing this to show that people ought to be prepared when it's open to take the vaccine," Mr Biden said from Newark, Delaware, where he got the jab go on TV. "There is 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 early 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 get their first shots in a few days.
The Biden team has set an objective of 100 million Covid-19 vaccinations in the US during the administration's first 100 days in the White House.
Through the pandemic, the US has recorded a lot more than 18 million cases and 319,000 deaths.
President Donald Trump, who spent three days in hospital with the coronavirus in October, hasn't said when he intends to have the vaccine.
The president is currently among last of the country's top elected officials to have not received the first of the span of two jabs.
"I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the correct time," Mr Trump wrote in a 13 December tweet.
A few of his advisers have defended the delay, saying he's still protected by the treatments he received to beat the virus.
