WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, are scheduled to receive the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, and it will be recorded on live video.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, are expected to receive the vaccine next week.
The Biden transition team told reporters during a Friday briefing call that staggering their vaccinations was “consistent with security and medical protocols” and it was recommended by medical and health experts. Asked for the reasoning for that recommendation, incoming press secretary Jen Psaki declined to go into further detail.
Harris will travel to Columbus, Georgia, Monday to campaign with Senate Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff elections.
In other transition news:
- President Donald Trump has no public events. Vice President Pence is scheduled to lead a teleconference with higher education chancellors and presidents and will later head a coronavirus task force meeting Monday afternoon.
- Congress reached an agreement on a nearly $900 billion Covid-19 relief package Sunday evening which includes direct payments of up to $600 a person based on income and an extra $300 for unemployment insurance a week. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the legislation Monday.
- Biden hopes that Susan Rice, his pick to lead the Domestic Policy Council, will elevate the low-profile White House group.
- The fate of the 2020 U.S. census is up in the air as the deadline to finalize the count approaches and experts are skeptical that the government can produce accurate numbers of the country under such tight constraints.
Ali Vitali contributed.