BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker said his body ached and he experienced chills after receiving his second COVID-19 vaccine shot — and then immediately urged fellow Massachusetts residents to get their shots to help the state suppress the coronavirus.
“Yesterday was a long day,” Baker said at the end of an unrelated press conference Thursday in Danvers. “Twenty-four hours after I got it, I ached all over. I had chills. I didn’t have a temperature.”
Despite the discomfort, Baker said he was glad to receive the shot and said the best way to fight the coronavirus was for as many residents as possible to also get their vaccine shots. In two weeks, he said he will officially join the growing ranks of the fully vaccinated in Massachusetts, which is nearing 2.5 million in a state with a population of more than 7 million.
“I urge everybody in Massachusetts to go get vaccinated,” Baker said. “There is overwhelming evidence at this point, based on many of the populations that have been vaccinated so far, which includes a lot of very vulnerable populations, that vaccines work.”
Vaccines are currently available to anyone 16 years old or older.
The Republican also suggested that the state could move up the date when nearly all COVID-19 restrictions in Massachusetts will be lifted — currently Aug. 1 — provided people continue getting their shots and abiding by pandemic protocols.
“It depends a lot on what happens in the month of May,” Baker said.
“If people continue to get vaccinated in Massachusetts, if people continue to do the right things, if people continue to do the work that we all know will reduce case counts, reduce hospitalizations, and make this commonwealth a safer, better place, we’ll take a look at where we are and make a decision as we go about whether we can move that date up,” he added.
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