National Institutes of Health
- Dr. Anthony Fauci received his first dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.
- His place of work, the National Institutes of Health, worked with Moderna to produce the shot.
- President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence have already received their first jabs of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Dr. Anthony Fauci received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today, after leading the US coronavirus pandemic response since March.
Fauci got his first jab of Moderna’s vaccine, which was jointly produced by his employer the National Institutes of Health and the pharmaceutical company Moderna.
Asked why he was getting vaccinated, Fauci said: “I feel extreme confidence in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine.”
“I want to encourage 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, moments before getting his shot.
Moderna’s vaccine is 95% effective and is first being rolled out to healthcare workers since the FDA granted it emergency authorization last week. Pfizer’s vaccine is also 95% effective and was authorized for emergency use on December 11. Both vaccines require two shots.
Fauci will receive his second dose in 28 days.
"What we're seeing now is the culmination of years of research that has led to a phenomenon that's been truly unprecedented," Fauci said during opening statements at the livestreamed event.
The 79-year-old public health expert receive his shot on a livestream alongside Department of Health and Human Services Director Alex Azar, NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins, and six frontline workers at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President Mike Pence, and US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams got their first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine during live videos on Monday and Friday.
Fauci's vaccination came just ahead of his 80th birthday on December 24, which he says he will be celebrating on Zoom.