Harris tries to combat vaccine hesitancy in D.C. as the district faces rollout issues
Harris visited a pharmacy in a Giant supermarket in a predominantly minority neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on Thursday in an effort to ease vaccine hesitancy on the same day she and Biden will tout reaching the 50 million-shot marker, which is halfway to their 100 million shots in 100 days goal. But on the same day of Harris' visit, there were problems with the district's website to register for vaccine appointments.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the website issues were caused by a crush of demand after eligibility was expanded to include people with pre-existing conditions like severe obesity, asthma, liver disease and other conditions.
At the event, Harris spoke to Brenda Thompson, a D.C. resident who was about to receive her second dose, about her experience getting the Moderna vaccine, with Harris saying she needed to "take it a little slow" the day after her second dose.
![PHOTO: Vice President Kamala Harris walks past management and employees after visiting a pharmacy in a Giant grocery store to speak about the Covid-19 vaccine, Feb. 25, 2021, in Washington, D.C.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/harris-pharmacy-gty-ps-210225_1614268525526_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
Harris spoke with the store's pharmacist, Samir Balile, who told Harris he sees lines of people every day waiting for their shots, but he is concerned about hesitancy in the coming weeks.
Harris reported to him feeling some side effects after the second dose.
"The first dose, I was fine. The second dose, I thought I was fine, got up early in the morning, went to work, then midday I realized I might need to slow down a bit. Just that one day, and then it was fine, it was like nothing," Harris said.
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky and John Parkinson