House GOP leaders say vaccine works but shouldn't be mandated
The GOP Doctors Caucus, along with the conference leaders, avoided directly instructing Americans to get their COVID-19 shots at the press conference, but did encourage hesitant Americans to discuss vaccines with their doctors and then come to a “personal decision.”
“We urge all Americans to talk to their doctors about the risks of COVID, talk to their doctors about the benefits of getting vaccinated and then come to a decision that's right for them about the vaccine,” Rep.
Andy Harris (R-Md.) said.
The press conference comes as the delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated communities, filling hospitals in some places. States across the country have seen a rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, but those suffering are almost all people who have not been vaccinated.
As those statistics have risen, Republican office holders increasingly have been talking publicly about vaccines this week, as have a number of figures on Fox News.
Harris, the first of the GOP doctors to speak, emphasized the COVID-19 vaccinations do “protect against symptomatic infection from the delta variant.”
House Minority Whip
Steve Scalise (R-La.), who got his first shot of Pfizer days ago amid concerns about the delta strain, said he “would encourage people to get the vaccine,” saying the caucus has “expressed confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.”
Another member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), said all of the physicians present “want people vaccinated,” but as a medicine with potential side effects, the vaccine should not be mandated.
“There's not one physician, there's not one doctor here that doesn't want people vaccinated,” he said.
But he added, “This should not come down from the government saying you have to have something because there can be some side effects.”
Sen.
Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), a physician, said the spread of the delta strain presents “a great opportunity” to discuss “the risks and benefits of taking the vaccine.”
“On the other hand, I think we can all take a deep breath, a sigh of relief that the science shows us there's no reason to panic over the delta variant,” he said, citing the vaccine’s effectiveness and the vaccination rates for adults and seniors.
He also noted that half of unvaccinated people are expected to have natural immunity from contracting the virus, although experts have recommended those who had COVID-19 should still get vaccinated.
House GOP leaders on Thursday expressed confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness against the virus but said it shouldn’t be mandated for Americans as cases surge in pockets of the U…
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