Mike Tyson Says He’s Vaccinated, But Wasn’t Thrilled About Getting The Jab
Mike Tyson says he’s been vaccinated for COVID-19, but he is now admitting that it was pressure from his peers that finally got him to get shots in his arm.
“I didn’t do it willingly," he told USA TODAY during an interview at his cannabis company. “I’m a little apprehensive of that. I was pretty much beaten into submission to do this because I travel internationally. And if I don’t travel, we don’t eat. So I decided to take the risk and take the shot. And people, they have their own choice. I never got sick.’’
The legendary boxer, who at 20 became the youngest ever heavyweight champion, says he may have contracted the coronavirus at one point “because I was coughing a lot and I was in this place with a lot of people. The whole day I was just coughing, throwing up water, so I was dehydrated."
He added: “I might have caught it, but I feel great now. I really feel well. The best I ever felt."
Mike Tyson has not competed professionally since last November, when he went eight full rounds with Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match.
As of Friday, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has eclipsed 700,000. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines, which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness, were available to any American over the age of 12.