The nation’s top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci told reporters on Thursday that the second round of the COVID-19 vaccine knocked him out for 24 hours.
“I did. I had it on the 19th. I was hoping that I wouldn’t get too knocked out. I did for about 24 hours. Now I’m fine,” Fauci said after he was asked if he received the second dose of the vaccine at a White House event.
“Fatigued. A little achy. You know. Chilly. Not sick,” Fauci clarified.
The second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can leave people feeling tired and achy. Other symptoms include chills and a fever.
Fauci received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine from Moderna in December on live television to boost the public’s confidence in the vaccine. President Biden and other leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have endorsed taking the vaccine to instill public confidence.
Thus far, most states have rolled out their vaccine distributions, prioritizing health care professionals, first responders and the elderly first. Some local leaders, however, have expressed frustration with the federal vaccine rollout, stating that they are not receiving adequate allocations of the vaccine from the government.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Wednesday that the city needed to reschedule tens of thousands of vaccination appointments due to a lack of product supply.
More than 17.5 million people have been vaccinated in the U.S. thus far, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But health experts warns that the rate of vaccination needs to increase to obtain herd immunity.
Biden’s administration has set the goal of administering 100 million vaccines in the first 100 days of his presidency, and has vowed to use powers under the Defense Production Act to speed up the process.
The news comes as the death toll in the U.S. hit more than 400,000 this week.