UN Chief Receives First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in The Bronx, a few miles uptown from UN Headquarters in New York.

71-year-old Mr. Guterres was eligible to receive the vaccine on the basis of his age.

In Newyork, the residents over the age of 65 are included in the current phase of vaccination, which also includes school workers, first responders, public transit workers, and grocery workers.

“My appeal is for all to take profit of the opportunities that exist, and be vaccinated as soon as they can,” the UN chief said.

The media was also invited to observe the UN chief receive his shot. 

After receiving the shot, UN Chief in a tweet said, “I was fortunate and grateful to get the first dose of my #COVID19 vaccine today. We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. With this pandemic, none of us are safe until all of us are safe.”

Earlier in December, UN Chief declared that he would happily receive the vaccine in public, and added that, for him, vaccination is a moral obligation:

“Each one of us provides a service to the whole community”, he said, “because there is no longer a risk of spreading the disease.”