New York, Dec 17 (IANS): US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence will publicly receive a Covid-19 vaccine on Friday to promote the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and build confidence among the American people.

They will be joined by US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who will also receive the vaccine, the White House said on Wednesday.

US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday said that Dr Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser, asked him to get vaccinated against Covid-19 "sooner than later."

Biden told reporters that he would get it "by the numbers" and that he would get it done "publicly," the USA Today reported.

The US FDA gave the emergency use authorisation for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine last week.

The US started its Covid-19 vaccine rollout nationwide on Monday as the death toll in the pandemic topped 300,000 in the country.

A recent survey published in the American Journal of Infection Control revealed that at least 21.3 per cent adults in the country are not planning to get the Covid-19 vaccine shot.

Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton earlier revealed they will take the vaccine in public.