Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer, along with partners, created a vaccine to combat the global coronavirus pandemic which was approved and rolled out earlier this month.
McConnell received his vaccine on Friday as did Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). McConnell said that he received his shot following continuity of government protocols.
The virus has killed more than 300,000 people across the country and continues hospitalize thousands of others, limiting hospital capacity, and leading to restrictions on social gatherings and visits to protect from the communal disease.
In a statement this week, McConnell cited a recent poll that showed about a quarter of American adults are unsure whether they want to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and another quarter who say they will not be vaccinated.
“It is concerning that half of Americans feel this way,” McConnell said. “The only way to beat this pandemic is for us to follow the advice of our nation’s health care professionals: get vaccinated and continue to follow CDC guidelines.
McConnell, a survivor of polio in his youth, said that he knows “both the fear of a disease and the extraordinary promise of hope that vaccines being.”
“I truly hope all Kentuckians and Americans will heed this advice and accept this safe and effective vaccine,” he said.
-Staff report
Photo provided
