Count Mayor George Flaggs Jr. among the public officials saying they will take the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available. Flaggs said he would take it, even though he doesn’t like shots.

“I’ve always said a leader ought to lead by example,” Flaggs said during Monday’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting. “If I’m going to ask everybody else to take it I think I should take it.”

Flaggs said he has not taken vaccines except for those that were mandatory, such as smallpox injections, when he was a child.

“I’ve never taken a flu shot in my life; I don’t like shots. Period,” he said. “But as mayor of this city, if the vaccine is offered to me, I will lead by example and take it.”