Dr. Anthony Fauci Gets COVID-19 Vaccine’s First Dose

Dr. Anthony Fauci got the COVID-19 vaccine live on TV on Tuesday morning. Fauci is one of the top public health experts in the country, and has become a kind of celebrity over the last year during the coronavirus pandemic. In CBS News‘ coverage of the vaccination, Fauci confirmed that he was taking this drug in part to ensure public faith in its safety and efficacy.

Fauci got the mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 developed by Moderna, at a live event staged by his National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He wore a mask and rolled up the sleeve on his left arm, allowing the health care professional on hand to inoculate him with the vaccine. She asked him if he had any last-minute questions about the drug before explaining that it is an “intramuscular injection” and administering it. The small assembly of NIH workers applauded.

“I want everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated, so we can have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic,” Fauci said during the vaccination. He explained that he wanted the vaccine for personal reasons, but that he wanted his inoculation to be televised in case it could do any public good.

“For me it’s important for two reasons, one is that I’m an attending physician here on the staff at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, and so I do see patients,” he said. “But as important or more important, it’s as a symbol for the rest of the country that I feel extreme confidence in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine.”

At least six other people at the NIH got the Moderna vaccine along with Fauci, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins. This is the second COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The first, developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, began shipping last week, while Moderna’s vaccine began shipping on Monday.

Other public figures have gotten some of the first vaccines available as well, ostensibly with the same purpose of ensuring public trust in the drug. That is because polls show that many Americans are wary of the rapidly-developed vaccine. However, critics are also questioning whether people like Vice President Mike Pence should be at the top of the list when front line health care workers are begging for the vaccine.

Each state has been tasked with determining for itself who will get the coronavirus vaccine first, and so far all are opting to give it to health care workers and nursing home residents first. Public health experts say that it will take until the spring to inoculate everyone, so it is vital to continue wearing masks and social distancing.