At a Republican event in Kentucky on Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made an appeal to the fellow men of his party, urging them to set aside skepticism and get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible.
The event, held at the Appalachian Regional Healthcare Hazard Clinic in Kentucky’s Perry County, saw McConnell discussing statewide vaccine distribution and answering a media question regarding recent polls about men who identify as Republicans passing up the chance to be vaccinated.
“I can stand here as a Republican man — as soon as it was my turn, I took the vaccine,” McConnell said. “I would encourage all Republican men to do that ... Take the vaccination.”
McConnell went on to outline the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccines in comparison to the flu shot.
“Two of them are 90 percent effective,” McConnell said. “One of them is 70 percent effective. And I didn’t realize until this pandemic began that the flu shot is only 50 percent effective, and a whole lot of people get the flu shot. So there’s no good argument not to get the vaccination. I would encourage all men, regardless of party affiliation, to get the vaccination.”
McConnell received his vaccination shot in December of last year and joined other politicians - including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Mike Pence - in promoting its efficacy, tweeting that “vaccines are how we beat this virus.”
Despite political leaders from different parties putting partisanship aside over COVID-19 vaccines, a poll conducted by PBS NewsHour earlier this month indicated that out of 1,227 adults, 49% of men who identified as Republicans said they did not plan to be vaccinated.