Dr. Fauci receives newest COVID-19 vaccine

Dr. Anthony Fauci, nation's top infectious disease expert, has received initial dose of newest COVID-19 vaccine alongside or federal health leers who helped oversee its development. "What we're seeing w is culmination of years of research which have led to a phemen that has truly been unprecedented. And that is to go from realization that we're dealing with a new pathogen, a virus that was described in January of this year, to less than one year later to have vaccines that are going into arms of so many people, including myself," Fauci said.

vaccinations Tuesday at National Institutes of Health campus outside Washington are part of a broer government effort to bolster public confidence in safety of two COVID-19 vaccines recently cleared by U.S. regulators. Fauci received his first shot of two-dose regimen alongside NIH director Dr. Francis Collins and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Each received vaccine co-developed by NIH and Massachusetts drugmaker Moderna.

Along with a similar shot from Pfizer, U.S. is working to ramp up largest vaccination effort in its history to eventually defeat pandemic, which was killed nearly 320,000 people in U.S. and upended life worldwide. Both vaccines are strongly protective and were developed in less than a year after coronavirus emerged, a scientific victory built on years of NIH-funded research.

Six health care workers from NIH's research hospital also received vaccination shots at event. Members of Congress and or top government officials have been in first wave of Americans to be iculated against COVID-19.