VIDEO: Fauci records message encouraging MTA workers to get COVID-19 vaccines

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Dr. Anthony Fauci put in an appearance at an MTA board meeting on Thursday as part of the agency's effort to encourage its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

At the meeting, MTA Chairman Pat Foye said he understood some employees were "hesitant about getting the vaccine," but noted that the shot is "our shot, literally, to beat the virus."

"And if we're not convincing enough, take it from a fellow New Yorker, and one of the nation's leading public health experts, who has a special message for the MTA workers," he said.

Foye then played a pre-recorded message in which Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained that COVID-19 vaccines are "safe, and they're free."

Fauci took the subway from his home in Brooklyn to Regis High School on Manhattan's Upper East Side on a daily basis growing up, he noted.

"I can relate warmly to you folks who played an important role in my younger days as a New Yorker," he said. "And so, since I care about you all, I strongly encourage all MTA workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus."

"This pandemic has taken so much from us, and vaccination is the best way for us to fight back and help restore our lives," he added. "This may save your life."

At least 130 MTA employees have died of complications related to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.