STRYPER's MICHAEL SWEET Receives First Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine: 'I Wanna Rock'

STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet has just received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. On Wednesday (April 14),the 57-year-old guitarist/vocalist, who lives in Massachusetts, took to his Twitter to share a picture of him holding up a pin that reads "I Got Vaccinated At Gillette Stadium" after he got the shot, and he wrote in an accompanying message: "First one down, second one to go. I Wanna Rock."

Last December, Sweet admitted that he was a little wary of the new, rapidly developed COVID-19 vaccines. Asked in an interview with "Rocking With Jam Man" if he would get the vaccine once it became available, Sweet responded: "I don't know. To be honest with you, I'm not sure. It's one of those things where I wanna wait at least a little while just to make sure that they've got all the — for lack of a better way of putting it — bugs worked out. And I'll be honest with you too — I'm a little apprehensive, 'cause I'm one of those guys, whenever I get a flu shot, I get sick. So I don't do well with vaccines. And I'm a little concerned. I heard a story about someone in Brazil who got a COVID vaccine and they got sick and they died. Now, I don't know if that was related directly to the vaccine itself.

"I'm a little nervous about rushing out to get the vaccine, but I think in time I will most certainly get the vaccine," he added. "I just don't know exactly when."

Over 120 million Americans — more than 48% — have received at least one dose of the three vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A recent NPR/Marist poll found that one in four Americans said they would refuse a coronavirus vaccine if offered. Another 5% are "undecided" about whether they would get the shot. 49% of Republican men said they would not take the vaccine when it's available to them.

Although the COVID-19 vaccine was produced quickly because of the urgency of the health crisis and the number of clinical trial volunteers, scientists say the vaccine was not rushed, and it relies on years of research.

The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has estimated that about 70-85% of Americans would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

America's two main vaccines have shown 95% efficacy against the coronavirus.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which became available in the United States last month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave it emergency use authorization, was tested with new variants of COVID-19, and has shown to be effective against them; Pfizer and Moderna were tested prior to the emergence of these variants.