Fauci Receives First Dose of Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine

Vaccine Mandates, Booster Shots, and End of the Pandemic

New Data Suggests Vaccines Can be More Effective Than Natural Immunity

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Fauci received the vaccine alongside Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full authorization to the Pfizer vaccine on August 23, 2021.

The FDA's authorization means that the vaccine is now considered safe and effective for use in people 16 years of age and older.

Fauci said that he received the vaccine to protect himself and others from COVID-19.

"I want to encourage everyone to get vaccinated," Fauci said. "This is the best way to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community from COVID-19."

In an interview with ABC News, Fauci discussed new data suggesting that COVID-19 vaccines can be more effective than natural immunity.

The data, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine, found that people who had been vaccinated had a lower risk of getting sick from COVID-19 than people who had recovered from the virus.

"This is important news," Fauci said. "It shows that the vaccines are very effective at preventing COVID-19, even in people who have already had the virus.

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Fauci also weighed in on vaccine mandates, booster shots, and the end of the pandemic.