As the coronavirus vaccine begins to be distributed around the country, it is making a stop in Washington, D.C., where members of Congress will soon be able to receive dosages.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement this week that she will get the vaccine and urged Americans to follow suit, saying, “All Americans should have full confidence in the vaccines, knowing that they were reviewed and recommended by the FDA’s advisory panel’s independent experts.”
The Speaker added, “Congressional Leadership has been informed by the Office of the Attending Physician that Members of the House and Senate are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.”
Pelosi said that she plans to receive the vaccine in “the next few days.” The speaker added that she “will continue to follow CDC guidelines by continuing to wear a mask and take other science-based steps to stop the spread of the virus.”
In a message to other members of Congress, Pelosi said, citing the attending physician’s remarks, “‘My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: there is no reason why you should defer receiving this vaccine. The benefit far exceeds any small risk.'”
The attending physician’s office told members, “Once we have completed the vaccination of the Members, we will follow a process to identify the continuity-essential staff members in the various divisions of the Capitol community in the coming weeks. The appointing process will then continue until the small vaccine supply is exhausted. A second dose scheduling process will then begin later.”
Confidence in the vaccine has been lagging around the country. A study from PEW Research found that 39% of Americans said they “definitely or probably would not get a coronavirus vaccine.”
But half of that group said their opinions may change as the vaccinations roll out and more information becomes available.
On Capitol Hill, support for the vaccine is largely bipartisan. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told Politico, “I’d take one right now. I’ll take two right now. I hear a lot of ‘I’m not gonna take it, because I don’t know what’s in it.’ And you know what I tell them? Do you eat hot dogs? You don’t know what’s in hot dogs, but you eat them. Take the vaccine.”