A teenage city council member in Alabama who had voted to end a mask mandate is encouraging residents to get vaccinated after he contracted Covid-19.

“I am going to get the vaccine after I’m cleared of the virus,” Hunter Pepper, 19, said Friday.

The Decatur city councilman said he received two positive Covid-19 tests Wednesday and has dealt with uncomfortable symptoms, including labored breathing, fever, headaches, vomiting and a raspy cough.

The Decatur council voted in April to lift the city's mask mandate with only one member voting to keep it, WAAY in Huntsville reported.

When asked Friday about the vote, he said he has never been against masks or vaccinations.