Harris visits DC pharmacy to promote vaccine program

Vice President Harris, along with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), visited a pharmacy in Southeast Washington, D.C., on Thursday to promote the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine pharmacy program and try to address vaccine hesitancy.

Harris spoke at the Giant Food grocery store about the side effects she experienced after receiving the second dose of her Moderna vaccine and reassured a woman as she received her own second dose.

“The first day that I got the shot, I felt fine. The next day, I realized, I needed to take it a little slow. And the next day it was like nothing ever happened, but I knew I was vaccinated,” the vice president told the woman before she received the second dose of her Moderna vaccine. Harris added she experienced no side effects with the first shot.

.@VP Kamala Harris visits a Washington, DC pharmacy participating in the Biden administration’s Federal Retail Pharmacy Program pic.twitter.com/F9DEZSmKNf

— The Hill (@thehill) February 25, 2021

Harris, who is the first female, first African American and first Asian American vice president, has made an effort to raise awareness about the coronavirus vaccine in communities of color in particular in order to allay vaccine hesitancy, assure individuals the vaccines are safe and ensure that enough of the public receives them.

Harris, then vice president-elect, received the first dose of her Moderna vaccine publicly in December at United Medical Center in Southeast D.C. The center serves residents of Wards 7 and 8, which represent the largest population of African American residents of the District. Harris received her second dose publicly a few weeks later as vice president at the National Institutes of Health.

President Biden has also received his doses publicly to assure the public the vaccines are safe and effective.

Norton thanked Harris for being there on Thursday morning, saying that it would encourage people in the African American community to receive their vaccinations.

Harris also sought to highlight the administration’s program for increasing access to COVID-19 vaccines by sending doses to select pharmacies across the country. The administration says that roughly 7,000 retail pharmacies are participating nationwide and that 2 million doses were shipped to them last week as part of the program.

Harris and Norton also discussed Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief proposal, as House Democrats prepare to vote on a relief measure in the coming days. Democrats have moved forward with passing a bill through budget reconciliation as Biden has been unable to secure Republican support.

Republicans have offered less costly counterproposals but balked at the price tag of Biden’s plan.

“I am absolutely excited about how the president is taking no prisoners when it comes to getting a big bill through,” Norton told Harris. “I’m very confident we can get it through the House, and it looks like we’ll be able to get it through the Senate as well.”