Top congressional leaders will receive the coronavirus vaccine in the coming days with dozens of lawmakers planning to quickly follow suit — an effort designed to maintain a continuity of government while also instilling public confidence in the shot.
The limited batch of doses, which is expected to soon arrive in the House and Senate and was first reported by POLITICO, marks a major development for lawmakers and frontline workers in a Capitol complex that has battled dozens of cases this year.
But the sudden announcement of vaccines stunned many lawmakers who had been kept in the dark about whether they would get doses at all. Now, members are preparing for their first doses in what’s expected to be the final week in session of the 116th Congress.
Vaccines for federal agencies and officials across Washington have been arriving at Walter Reed Medical Center in recent days, and thousands of doses are expected to be designated for Congress.
Lawmakers first received word that vaccinations were imminent on the Hill in a letter sent by the Capitol physician, Brian Monahan, on Thursday evening, outlining some key details of how the vaccination process will work.
Members of Congress will receive top priority and are being encouraged to schedule an appointment as soon as possible to receive their vaccination, which will require two shots. The Office of the Attending Physician will then identify “continuity-essential staff members” who will be next in line — likely campus police officers and other essential workers who keep the Capitol running amid the pandemic.
“The appointing process will then continue until the small vaccine supply is exhausted,” Monahan wrote to members.
But as some lawmakers grapple with whether it’s fair to be among the first to receive the vaccine, Monahan was clear: “My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: there is no reason why you should defer receiving this vaccine,” he wrote. “The benefit far exceeds any small risk.”
Earlier Thursday, Monahan sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, informing him that Congress would be receiving a small tranche of coronavirus vaccines.
Both McConnell and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, said Thursday they would take the vaccine in the coming days.
“With confidence in the vaccine and at the direction of the Attending Physician, I plan to receive the vaccine in the next few days,” Pelosi said, adding, “It is imperative that we ensure that the vaccine will be free and delivered in a fair, equitable manner to as many Americans as soon as possible.”
And McConnell, citing “government continuity requirements,” also said he would accept a recommendation from the Office of the Attending Physician to take the vaccine. McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, urged Americans to have faith in the vaccine.