Willie Nelson, 87, has officially received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the facility where he was vaccinated is encouraging others to follow his example. On Wednesday, Family Hospital Systems shared several photos of the singer receiving his vaccine, the first an image of Nelson sitting in his car with a mask on and giving the camera thumbs-up.
Other photos saw Nelson actually receiving the shot, still sitting in his car. “Getting your COVID vaccine is Willie cool!” Family Hospital Systems captioned the images. “Thank you Willie Nelson for helping Family Hospital Systems slow the spread of COVID-19!” Family Hospital Systems is a locally owned and operated system of freestanding emergency rooms and hospitals in Nelson’s home state of Texas and encouraged others to sign up for vaccination.
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“We want to encourage everyone to continue to get routine tests and signup for a vaccine,” the post concluded. “Family Hospital Systems drive through tests and vaccines are convenient and easy. Sign up today!”
There are currently two approved vaccines being administered in the United States — Pfizer’s vaccine requires two shots spaced 21 days apart and Moderna’s requires two shots spaced 28 days apart. According to Bloomberg, 11.9 million doses have been administered in the United States and at least 1.46 million people have received both of their doses.
Nelson will turn 88 in April and recently told Slate that he wasn’t sure he would live past age 21. “I didn’t ever think I’d get this old,” he said with a laugh. “I always thought I was lucky to make it past 21.” The singer typically tours consistently, though he has been sidelined amid the pandemic, and makes sure to stay active, sharing that he is still involved with martial arts.
“One thing it gives you is a little confidence that you don’t have to worry a lot because you’re capable of handling any situation that comes up,” he said. “Having no fear is a pretty good thing. I still try to do a little workout every day just to pay for the day. That’s what I call it: You have to do something to pay for the day. So I’ll get up and do a little walking or jogging or whatever, just enough to keep the heart going.”
