Joe Biden urges Americans to take Covid-19 vaccine, assures its safety

After taking the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday urged all Americans to take the vaccine when it is available.

Biden also thanked the scientists and researchers for developing the vaccine adding that the American people have nothing to worry about when it comes to the vaccine's safety.

"Today, I received the COVID-19 vaccine. To the scientists and researchers who worked tirelessly to make this possible -- thank you. We owe you an awful lot," Biden said in a tweet.

"And to the American people -- know there is nothing to worry about. When the vaccine is available, I urge you to take it," he wrote further.

Biden also tweeted a picture of he getting the first dosage of the Pfizer vaccine to which Vice President-elect Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter, "This is what leadership looks like."

Biden on Monday received his first dose of vaccine for the novel coronavirus publicly on Monday. The event was broadcast live as part of an effort to reassure the American public of the vaccine's safety, The Hill reported.

A nurse practitioner at ChristianaCare hospital in Delaware administered the first dose of the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNtech to Biden on Monday afternoon.

"Left's good," he told the nurse practitioner who administered the vaccine, rolling up the sleeve of his black long-sleeve turtleneck and exposing his left arm. "You just go ahead anytime you're ready."

He credited the Trump administration for its work on Operation Warp Speed, which helped to deliver a quick vaccine, The New York Times reported.

"The administration deserves some credit getting this off the ground," he said. "I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it's available to take the vaccine."

Biden became the latest in a string of U.S. political leaders who have received the vaccine. Vice President Mike Pence received it publicly at a White House event Friday while other members of Congress have also received doses.