Democrat Joe Biden was declared free from the CCP virus after coughing through his remarks on Monday after the Electoral College voted.
Biden, 78, is considered high-risk for the virus because of his advanced age.
“Thank you. I have a little bit of a cold. I’m sorry, but look, you know, you did it, you did it, not a joke,” he said during a call with supporters after an address to the nation, according to Fox News.
When he spoke, the former vice president was frequently coughing and cleared his throat multiple times, prompting speculation about his health.
Biden was last tested for the virus on Friday.
It came as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Alex Azar, told CNN on Monday that if Biden wants to receive the new COVID-19 vaccine, the Health and Human Services agency would make sure he can get it.
“Of course, we would,” Azar said when asked about it.
“Any of those types of efforts that signal to the American people the importance of getting vaccinated and that we, as leaders, are willing to sort of, as you say, put our money where our mouth is,” Azar said, adding that “we would be very supportive of that and make sure that that would happen.”
The vaccine that was produced by Pfizer and BioNTech was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week.
Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, told reporters he will receive the vaccine “in the days ahead.”
“Be confident that we have cut red tape, but we’ve cut no corners when it comes to the development of this vaccine,” Pence said. “I look forward in the days ahead to receiving the vaccine myself and do so without hesitation.”
