Congressional Staffers Will Receive Coronavirus Vaccine Before General Public

Congressional lawmakers and their top staffers will receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine before the general public.

Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of the United States Congress, announced Tuesday that “a specific number of COVID-19 [coronavirus] vaccine doses” had been set aside by the White House for federal lawmakers and their staff to ensure “continuity of government operations.”

According to a memo Monahan sent members of Congress, every lawmaker will be able to designate two staffers from their personal office to receive the vaccine. Members of the congressional leadership, including committee chairman and ranking members, will be allowed to put forward four staffers each.

Officially, doses of the vaccine will be given to only “critical employees who are engaged in “continuity of government” preparations and those in positions that will require “in-person interactions.” Individual members of Congress, however, are expected to have wide latitude in choosing which of their employees receive the vaccine.

Overall, more than 1,000 congressional staffers will be eligible to receive the first dose of the vaccine, according to Politico.

The news that congressional staffers will receive the vaccine comes as the Food and Drug Administration has approved two coronavirus vaccines for distribution. Initial doses of both vaccines have been reserved for those with the highest risk of being infected, most notably frontline hospital workers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than two million individuals have already been vaccinated. Members of the general public, including some elderly Americans, have yet to receive the vaccine, despite studies showing individuals over the age of 70 are considered most susceptible to the virus.