‘Didn’t feel a thing,’ Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says after getting COVID-19 vaccine
Gov. Greg Abbott rolled up his shirt sleeve as he prepared to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
“Didn’t feel a thing,” he said moments later after being vaccinated by a nurse. “It’s that easy.”
Abbott received the Pfizer vaccine live on television Tuesday, a move he said was meant to instill public trust in the vaccine. Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt was vaccinated soon after.
The state is on its second week of vaccine distribution, prioritizing front-line health care workers and people in long-term care facilities. Texas is expecting to receive a combined 620,000 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, in addition to the 224,250 that were delivered during the first week of distribution.
“I want to show my fellow Texans that it’s safe and easy to get the vaccine,” Abbott said. “And also remembering that I will never ask any Texan to do something that I’m not willing to do myself.
The vaccination was given at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin. Live video was provided by KVUE, an Austin news station.
A statewide survey by the Episcopal Health Foundation found that 63% of Texans polled said they are likely to take the vaccine. Thirty-seven percent said they are very likely to get it.
Next in line for the vaccine, after front-line health care workers and those in long-term care facilities, are people 65 and older and those with a chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk of severe illness.
“Over time, as we get more and more and more vaccine, this will eventually be what puts the pandemic behind us and makes the pandemic a part of history,” Hellerstedt said.
But in the meantime, it’s important people continue practicing safety measures, such as social distancing.
“That got us to where we are today to now, where we have a real game changer in the form of ... safe and effective vaccines,” Hellerstedt said.
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 1:30 PM.
