The most high-profile American in 2021 is going to receive his initial dose of Pfizer (PFE 0.55%) and BioNTech's (BNTX 0.58%) coronavirus vaccine as 2020 fades away. President-Elect Joe Biden will receive his first jab on Monday, his incoming press secretary Jen Psaki announced, in an unnamed medical facility in Delaware. Wife and soon-to-be-Second Lady Jill Biden will receive her shot along with him.
The vaccine is the first to receive Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Current high-level government officials have already received their initial doses, notably Vice President Mike Pence, who along with Second Lady Karen Pence was jabbed on Friday. President Donald Trump has not yet received one.
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Other Biden administration figures will receive their first shots of the vaccine in the very near future. Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris and incoming Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are slated to get theirs the week after Christmas.
Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine is administered in a two-dose regimen, with the booster coming three weeks after the first shot.
The vaccine is currently being distributed throughout the country. At the moment, due to the still-limited supply, inoculation has essentially been restricted to healthcare professionals, high-level government employees, and in certain cases to immediate family members in both categories.
The idea behind these high-profile inoculations, of course, is to instill confidence in Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine. It's encouraging that both members of the current and the incoming administrations -- with the exception of President Trump -- are being jabbed.
On Friday, however, both Pfizer and BioNTech stocks sank. The former was down by 0.9% and the latter 2.1% against only a 0.4% slide in the S&P 500 index on the day.
