Members of Congress are grappling with whether to prioritize receiving a coronavirus vaccine as the first doses begin to be distributed to health professionals across the country.
Lawmakers are wary of favoring themselves over their constituents, a factor that also made congressional leaders slow to implement a testing regime in the Capitol. At the same time, members of Congress are considered essential in keeping the government functioning and can help build public confidence in the vaccine by ingesting it themselves.
They also have a higher risk of exposure than the average person during the pandemic because they still have to travel frequently between their districts and Washington, DC, congregating in the Capitol.
And many legislators – including Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiCongress Approaches COVID-19 Emergency Response Funding Agreement Two-Piece Senators Urge Incorporation of Surprise Billing Agreement Into Year-End Package Democratic Leaders Under Pressure To Approve Downsized COVID-19 Emergency Response Agreement MORE (D-Calif.) And majority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellCongress Approaches COVID-19 Emergency Relief, Funding Deal Bipartisan Senators Push for Surprise Bill Deal Included in Year-End Package Democratic Leaders Under Pressure to Agree to Slimmed-Down COVID-19 Relief Deal MORE (R-Ky.) – are also older than 65, making them among the higher-risk groups already prioritized for vaccination by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A Capitol official said Tuesday that Congress has not yet been notified of the number of vaccine doses that will be available, meaning distribution plans have not yet been determined at this point.
Rep. Rodney Davis
Rodney Lee Davis Lawmakers Grapple With Implementation Of COVID-19 Vaccine On Capitol Hill House Republicans Who Failed To File Texas Lawsuit GOP Representative Dan Newhouse Tests Positive For COVID-19 MORE (Ill.), The most senior Republican on the House Administration Committee, urged Pelosi to establish a vaccination plan for members and key personnel, such as Capitol Police agents.
“As a vital branch of government, it is vital that our facility is back to full function and that our members and key staff are provided with a transparent vaccination plan to ensure not only the continuity of operations, but also the health and safety of our dedicated staff . Davis wrote in a letter to Pelosi on Tuesday.
Anthony Fauci
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Joe BidenDeVos urges education department staff to ‘resist’ when Biden takes office LGBTQ groups celebrate Buttigieg pick for Transportation secretary Biden administration needs two-pronged solutions for older Americans, lawmakers say MORE, Vice president-elect Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris Progressive Meeting Over Turner’s House Offer Lawmakers Grapple With Implementation Of COVID-19 Vaccine On Capitol Hill Overnight Health Care: FDA Endorses Safety And Efficacy Of Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine | FDA Approves First Home, Over-Counter Test | Fauci says Trump, Biden should be vaccinated MORE soon, President Trump
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“I really feel like we should get them vaccinated ASAP,” Fauci said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Biden said he would do it “in numbers” and publicly, and Pence said he would do it “in the next few days.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Tuesday that Trump would take the vaccine “as soon as his medical team determines it’s best,” but said he wanted to prioritize primary care workers, elderly people in long-term care facilities, and others. vulnerable populations. Trump contracted COVID-19 in October and may still have antibodies immunizing him against the virus.
At least 36 members of the House and Senate have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, while several others have tested positive for antibodies or had suspected cases.
The Capitol’s medical office already distributes free flu vaccines annually to all members and staff. And as of last month, free COVID-19 testing became available following an order from the DC mayor ordering people to travel to Washington to get a test.
While many test sites across the country have had long lines with people waiting for days at a time for results, the Capitol’s test site quickly redirects people and delivers results within 24 hours, if not the same day.
Still, lawmakers on both sides called for a testing regime in the Capitol for months before it became a reality. Pelosi and McConnell initially declined an offer from the White House in May to quickly test Capitol Hill, citing a desire to devote resources to frontline workers.
Minority leader in the Senate Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer Bipartisan Senators Urge Surprise Billing Agreement Into End-of-Year Package Progressive Actions Lead Calls For More Unemployment Insurance And Direct Payments To Lawmakers Grapple With Implementation Of COVID-19 Vaccine On Capitol Hill MORE (DN.Y.) said in a speech on the Senate floor on Monday that he would take a vaccine “as soon as it is appropriate and recommended,” but stressed that “I will not skip the line.”
And while lawmakers are sensitive to any semblance of privilege, some feel they should be able to encourage members of the public to get vaccinated.
A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation published Tuesday found that 71 percent of Americans are willing to take a free and safe COVID-19 vaccine. But the poll found a split along party lines: 86 percent of Democrats said they would take the vaccine, compared to 56 percent of Republicans.
The results of the polls indicated that vaccine skepticism is highest among Republicans, rural residents, black adults and key workers, with people voicing concerns about side effects, the role of politics in the development process and the novelty of the vaccine.
McConnell, a polio survivor, said on Tuesday that he is “a strong advocate of vaccination if you have a drug that you know works.”
“And so when it’s my turn, I’ll be happy to take the vaccine and do my part to reassure those who have doubts about this that we really need to get the country vaccinated,” McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill. So I think all of us who have at least some following in the country should stand up, as the former presidents are and as I’m sure people in the entertainment world will too, to encourage people to do this. “
The The District of Columbia government considers members of Congress essential workers, which is also a group considered by the CDC as a priority for early vaccination. Lawrence Gostin, a global professor of health law at Georgetown University, suggested that certain lawmakers, such as those in the line of succession, should take precedence over protections.
“I think there will be some vital lawmakers who, if they get COVID, could seriously disrupt US policy and the US government,” Gostin said.
At the same time, Gostin said, “There is a real concern in the public that I share that all of us in the country will have to make painful choices, real life or death choices, about who gets a vaccine and who doesn’t. It gets stuck in your throat, the idea that someone powerful, rich, a celebrity, including politicians, is jumping in line and at the top of the line for the common Americans. And that’s going to happen. “
Morgan Chalfant contributed.