Pence to receive COVID-19 vaccine publicly Friday

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, second lady Karen Pence, will publicly receive a COVID-19 vaccine in what his office said Wednesday was an effort to "build confidence among Americans."

The couple, along with Surgeon General Jerome Adams, will receive the vaccine Friday "to promote the safety and efficacy of the vaccine," the office of the vice president said.

The inoculation is expected to take place at the White House.

The announcement comes a week after a Gallup poll indicated 37% of Americans say they're unwilling to receive a coronavirus vaccine. But the percentage of people who say they are willing to be inoculated is a majority and has been growing since September.

Politically, the divide is stark. The survey found that three in four Democrats, 61% of independents and 50% of Republicans said they're willing to be inoculated.

Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden said Wednesday he also plans to receive a vaccine publicly when he's able to get one.

"I don't want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure we demonstrate to the American people that it is safe to take," he said.

Sources told CNN that Biden likely will receive the vaccine next week.

Healthcare workers began receiving the first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines this week in the United States.