United States President Joe Biden received his COVID-19 booster shot, in compliance with the latest recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vaccination was done at the White House on live television Monday, a few days after the director of the federal agency overseeing eligibility expanded booster access for multiple groups based on age, occupation and health.
At 78 years old, Biden qualified for a third jab under new guidance released late last week. The President was administered with his first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shot late last year. He got his second shot in January, ahead of his oath-taking.
Biden took questions from journalists while he received his shot and was inquired about how the U.S. is helping roll out vaccines to other nations that have a scarce supply of the jabs.
"We are doing more than every other country in the world combined," Biden said in quotes by Insider. "We have plenty of opportunity to make sure we get everyone in the world vaccinated."
President Biden receives Covid booster shot. pic.twitter.com/P5SzNWUpiG — MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 27, 2021
The CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration backed a booster shot of Pfizer's vaccine last week for individuals 65 years and older and with underlying medical conditions.
Biden said more than 77% of adults have received at least one shot, and around 23% have not gotten any jabs. The latter figure is what's causing "an awful lot of damage" for the rest of the U.S., he said. "This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated," he added.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky authorized Friday the distribution of Pfizer's COVID-19 boosters for people in vulnerable occupational and institutional settings, a move that overruled an advisory committee.
Walensky said she made the decision to protect frontline, in part, employees who are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The FDA has also given the green light for immunocompromised people to receive a third Pfizer or Moderna shot at least a month after their second jab.
Meanwhile, vaccine skeptics have already begun opposing booster shots. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has said he "probably will not" get a booster, despite praising the treatments and taking credit for their fast development.
