Pele gets COVID vaccine in Brazil: ‘Today is an unforgettable day’

This time, he received the shot instead of taking it.

Pele got his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday in Brazil.

“Today is an unforgettable day - I received the vaccine!” the 80-year-old soccer superstar said in an Instagram post. “The pandemic is not over yet. We must keep discipline to preserve lives until many people have taken the vaccine.”

The three-time World Cup winner encouraged people to keep wearing masks and social distancing.

The New York Cosmos legend has spent the pandemic isolated at his home in Guaruja, 55 miles southeast of downtown Sao Paulo. He suffers from various health ailments that prevent him from leaving home without help.

“This will pass if we can think of others and help each other,” Pele said Tuesday.

More than 250,000 people in Brazil have died from COVID-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins, the second-highest recorded death toll in the world. Nearly 2 million people in Brazil have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.