Dr. Anthony Fauci received his first shot of the two-dose regimen alongside National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Each received the vaccine co-developed by NIH and Massachusetts drugmaker Moderna. Six health care workers from NIH's research hospital also received vaccination shots at the event.
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The vaccinations Tuesday at the NIH campus outside Washington are part of a broader government effort to bolster public confidence in the safety of two COVID-19 vaccines recently cleared by U.S. regulators.
President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television Monday. He took a dose of Pfizer vaccine at a hospital not far from his Delaware home, hours after his wife, Jill Biden, did the same. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband are expected to receive their first shots next week.
Joe Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine
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Other top government officials have been in the first wave of Americans to be inoculated against COVID-19 as part of the largest vaccination campaign in the nation's history.
Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other lawmakers were given doses Friday. They chose to publicize their injections as part of a campaign to convince Americans that the vaccines are safe and effective amid skepticism, especially among Republicans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.