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Apollo astronauts urge Americans to get COVID-19 vaccine

Buzz Aldrin says COVID-19 vaccine was ‘painless’

Dr. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, one of the first men to walk on the moon, admiring a Flexjet Challenger 300 cockpit before flying to Huntsville, AL for the Apollo 11 homecoming celebration on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 in Burbank, Calif. (Mark Von Holden/AP Images for Flexjet)

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Often considered the bravest among us, Apollo astronauts are taking to social media to encourage others to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Satellite Beach resident and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin posted a photo on Twitter getting his first vaccine shot a couple of days before his 91st birthday, according to reporting from Florida Today.

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Sporting an Apollo 11 50th anniversary t-shirt and his trademark suspenders, Aldrin said getting the COVID-19 vaccine was painless.  He also thanked all the scientists, healthcare workers and government officials for making the vaccine available in record time.

“I urge everyone to sign up for a vaccination as soon as possible when eligible to do so, so that life can return to normal soon,” Aldrin tweeted.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has stipulated that those currently eligible for vaccines must be 65 or older or health care personnel with direct patient contact.

“As we move forward into 2021, I want to send a message of hope and inspiration to the American people and to all the world – help is here. I am proud to step forward to take this safe coronavirus vaccine that is provided – in record time – for all the world; this effort truly is a miracle,” Buzz Aldrin said in a press release.

In Chicago, astronaut Jim Lovell, who survived a brush with death as commander of Apollo 13, received his first shot of the Moderna vaccine last week at age 92.

“Really everybody should be getting the vaccine to cut out this coronavirus. It’s getting really bad and if don’t all get the vaccine so we don’t pass it on and give it to somebody else, we’re in trouble,” Lovell said in a video posted on Facebook.