US defense chief receives COVID-19 vaccination

Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller received his initial dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday.

The receiving came while the Defense Department begins its program of administering vaccinations at 16 defense sites in the United States and abroad. Miller and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, are to be among those receiving early vaccinations. Health care workers, emergency service personnel and residents of military retirement homes are getting top priority, according to defense officials. Miller said the Department of Defense's precision logistics are key to getting the first shipments of vaccines to hundreds of distribution sites around the country.

He also thanked the tens of thousands of Americans who participated in clinical trials, enabling a safe and effective vaccine to be developed.