After Getting COVID-19 Vaccine, Dr. Gayles Says He Feels Fine

SILVER SPRING, MD — Montgomery County's top health officer, Dr. Travis Gayles, says he feels fine nearly a week after getting the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

"I didn't grow 6 inches. My body didn't change. I wish I could've lost a few pounds as a result. But I didn't have any side effects that were important," Gayles told reporters on Tuesday. "I am looking forward to receiving the second dose of the vaccine in several weeks to come."

Gayles, who got the shot Wednesday, said the vaccine is safe and will "help alleviate the burden of COVID-19 in our communities."

As the lead on the active response to the pandemic, Gayles is among the first recipients to receive the Moderna vaccine, which requires two doses.

Moderna began shipping more than 104,000 initial doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other priority sites across Maryland last week. It's the second vaccine of its kind to receive emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The state's first shipment came from Pfizer two weeks ago.

It's going to be a little while before the vaccine has widespread circulation. The rollout is divided into four phases: 1A, 1B, 2, and 3.

Front-line healthcare workers, staff and residents of long-term care facilities, and first responders are part of Phase 1A. Essential workers and residents over the age of 75 are in Phase 1B.

Phase 1C includes individuals over the age of 65.

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How long it will take for the county to move from one phase to another remains unclear.

"Folks have asked, 'Well when is it going to be my turn?' The short answer is we can tell you where you fit in terms of your category, but we don't have a hard and fast date for when we will move from 1A to 1B to 1C, to Phase 2, and so forth," Gayles said.

"We will offer to 1A and if we notice that there is a decrease in the number of folks who are requesting appointments, we will move quickly to pivot to the next group ... to try and get as many people per week through the doors as we can, based upon the guidance and guidelines that have been provided by the CDC and the state."

During a COVID-19 media briefing on Tuesday, Gayles said Montgomery County received more than 4,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week. The plan is to administer about 1,000 doses on Wednesday, and another 1,500 on Thursday.

The county expects to receive more doses next week.

Gayles said he couldn't confirm how many doses the county will get, but anticipates it will be comparable to what it received this week.