Covid vaccine hesitancy delays House reopening as 25% of representatives are yet to take jabs

Vaccine has been made available to all members of Congress for continuity of government operations

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presides over voting on coronavirus relief package in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on March 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

Even as president Joe Biden is trying to urge every American to get vaccinated against Covid-19, it has emerged that one in four members of the House of Representatives is yet to be inoculated.

All members of Congress were offered access to the vaccine back in December, a decision that the White Houses’s National Security Council said was taken “to meet long-standing requirements for continuity of government operations”.

Last week however, during a debate on the full reopening of the House, it was revealed that only about 75 per cent of representatives have either taken up the offer or declared that they have received a vaccine through another provider.

The Office of Attending Physician can’t make recommendations about changing or relaxing the existing social distancing guidelines till there’s clarity about the vaccination status of the remaining 25 per cent of members, according to Axios. A memo from the office last week still urged social distancing and mask wearing as a precaution.

While the makeup of those refusing or declining to reveal their vaccine status is not known, more Republicans have spoken against taking it than Democrats. Madison Cawthorn, a 25-year-old Republican representative, has said in the past that he won’t be taking a vaccine because “the survival rate [from Covid] is too high for me to want it”.

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The pandemic has significantly disrupted the work of Congress, with as many as 71 representatives and senators testing positive for Covid-19, according to data compiled by GovTrack.us.

Minority leader Kevin McCarthy sent a letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi last week to ask about the plan for reopening the House and the timeline for ending the practice of proxy voting.

“Simply put: it’s time that we return to regular order. House Republicans are eager for the chance to reopen the People’s House, restore America’s voice in Congress, and work day in and day out to address the many concerns our constituents face,” the letter stated.

Ms Pelosi and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in December last year, triggering a debate over whether lawmakers were cutting in line to set an example or to save themselves.

“Our job is to make sure the vaccine isn’t politicised the way masks were politicised,” New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted after getting her vaccine. She was responding to senator Rand Paul who said it was “inappropriate” for him — who has already had the virus — to get vaccinated ahead of the elderly or healthcare workers.

However, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, has urged every member of Congress to take the vaccine. On Sunday, he also called on former president Donald Trump to urge his supporters in the Republican party to get vaccinated, saying it would be “very helpful to the effort” to contain the disease.

Mr Biden took HIS first dose of Covid-19 vaccine live on television in December to build America’s confidence in the JABS. He told Americans "there's nothing to worry about" and has repeatedly urged them to take the vaccine when they can.