LIST: World leaders vaccinated against Covid-19
MANILA, Philippines — Nations across the world have started their vaccination drives against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes respiratory ailment COVID-19. And as many expressed apprehension about taking the new vaccines over safety issues, government and religious leaders sat on the patient’s chair, rolled up their sleeves, and took the jab to rally hopes to end the pandemic.
US President-elect Joe Biden
On December 22, 2020, US President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine.
Biden, 78, was inoculated live on television to encourage Americans to avail themselves of the free vaccine against Covid-19.
My number one priority is getting people vaccinated as quickly as we can to get our country back on track. pic.twitter.com/JLY1DntIlR
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 12, 2021
(FILE PHOTO) US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP FILE)
US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
Article continues after this advertisementIncoming US Vice President Kamala Harris was also vaccinated in front of the public’s eye on December 26, 2020.
Article continues after this advertisement“That was easy,” Harris said after she received her first dose of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.
On the frontlines of this fight are nurses like Patricia who administered my vaccine yesterday. As the daughter of immigrants from Guyana, Patricia has been working tirelessly to protect and save lives.
To Patricia and all the nurses battling this pandemic—thank you. pic.twitter.com/xFmCWI3jRs
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 30, 2020
US Vice President Mike Pence
Outgoing US Vice President Mike Pence got his first shot of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on December 18, 2020.
During the televised event, Pence said “confidence in the vaccine is what brings us here this morning.”
“I didn’t feel a thing. Well done.”
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip
Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, received Covid-19 vaccines on January 9, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.
Britain’s royals were inoculated at Windsor Castle but the vaccine administered to them was not divulged.
In this file photo dated December 25, 2017, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, wait for their car following the traditional Christmas Day church service, at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, FILE)
Pope Francis and Benedict XVI
Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI received their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine as the inoculation campaign kicked off in The Vatican on January 13, according to Vatican News.
“I can confirm that as part of the vaccination program of the Vatican City State, as of today, the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine has been administered to Pope Francis and to the Pope Emeritus,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told the reporters.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
A December 26 Reuters report citing the Saudi Press Agency stated that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received his first jab of Covid-19 vaccine on December 25.
(FILE PHOTO) Popes Francis meets Pope Benedict XVI
Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum posted on his Twitter account on November 3 last year that he has received a Covid-19 vaccine shot.
Al Maktoum was administered with China’s Sinopharm vaccine.
While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine today. We wish everyone safety and great health, and we are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine available in the UAE. The future will always be better in the UAE. pic.twitter.com/Rky5iqgfdg
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) November 3, 2020
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
On January 10, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli to be vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a report published by The New York Times.
Netanyahu received the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
“I asked to be vaccinated first, together with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, to serve as personal examples and encourage you to be vaccinated,” he said during the televised inoculation.
מקבל את הזריקה השנייה במבצע ״חוזרים לחיים״ – כל אזרחי ישראל יחוסנו תוך 2-3 חודשים ונוכל לפתוח את הכלכלה שלנו!
(צילום: עמוס בן גרשום, לע״מ) pic.twitter.com/I5ni9yidCx
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) January 9, 2021
Indonesian President Joko Widodo
Indonesian President Joko Widodo was the first to get the shot of the Covid-19 vaccine in his country last January 13. He was vaccinated with the first of two doses of CoronaVac, the jab made by China’s Sinovac Biotech.
“I don’t feel it at all,” he said.
“This vaccination is important to break the chain of coronavirus infections and to give health protection to all of us, and safety and security for all Indonesians,” the 59-year-old Widodo told reporters, adding that it would “also help speed up the economic recovery.”
(FILE) Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. PHOTO FROM MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION via The Straits Times/Asia News Network
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had his first Covid-19 vaccine dose on January 8.
“It will make us safer, and it will make you and your loved ones safer too, so please take it when you can,” the 68-year-old prime minister said.
Singapore was the first Asian country to acquire and receive a batch of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was administered a jab of the Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine in front of cameras on January 14.
“The number of vaccines in the first stage is clear. Now, another 25-30 million doses will come in the period ahead. We want to continue this rapidly,” he told the reporters outside the Ankara City Hospital.
President Wavel Ramkalawan of Seychelles
The president of Seychelles, an archipelagic island country in the Indian Ocean, was also inoculated against Covid-19.
The BBC on January 11 reported that President Wavel Ramkalawan was given a shot of China’s Sinopharm vaccine.
KGA
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