Mitch McConnell: ‘I Would Encourage all Republican Men’ to Receive Coronavirus Vaccine

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is encouraging “all Republican men” to receive the coronavirus vaccine, saying there is “no good argument” against inoculation as the U.S. continues to combat the pandemic.

“I can say as a Republican man, as soon as it was my turn, I took the vaccine. I would encourage all Republican men to do that,” McConnell said in response to a question regarding what messaging the Republican Party can provide to encourage people to get vaccinated. There’s “no good argument not to get the vaccination. I would encourage all men regardless of party affiliation to get the vaccination,” he added during a news conference in Hazard, Kentucky.

McConnell’s comments come after Rep.-elect Julia Letlow (R-LA) suggested Republicans receive the coronavirus vaccination, noting the loss of her late husband, Luke, who died due to complications of the illness. Luke died at the age of 41 in December, shortly after winning a congressional seat, which his widow will now hold after recently winning a special election.

“Look at my family. Use my story,” Letlow said in an interview with CBS’ Face the Nation on the topic of the vaccine. “You know, I experienced a tragedy in my immediate family, and Covid can touch every family out there,” she added. “And so there is a vaccine that has life-saving capabilities, I want to encourage everyone to trust it and get the vaccine.”

Earlier March, former President Donald Trump called on Americans to get vaccinated, calling it “safe” and “something that works.”

“I would recommend it and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “It is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works.”

The U.S. government’s first look at the real-world use of COVID-19 vaccines found their effectiveness was nearly as robust as it was in controlled studies.

The two vaccines available since December — Pfizer and Moderna — were highly effective at 90% after two doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. In testing, the vaccines were about 95% effective in preventing COVID-19.

“This is very reassuring news,” said the CDC’s Mark Thompson, the study’s lead author. “We have a vaccine that’s working very well.”

The study is the government’s first assessment of how the shots have been working beyond the drugmakers’ initial experiments. Results can sometimes change when vaccines are used in larger, more diverse populations outside studies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.