Move Over, Grandma: Congressional Staffers Are Next in Line for the Vaccine

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Congressional staffers are headed to the front of the line for a vaccine inoculating them against Covid-19.

The announcement came in a memo on Monday evening from Congress’ attending physician, Dr. Brian Monahan, who noted that the first doses of the vaccine are reserved for “critical” and essential staff members. He asked each member of the House and Senate to submit the names of two staffers to be inoculated.

“Employees who occupy positions determined to make them eligible for the vaccine under these standards will be and/or have been notified of their status separately and provided with logistical information regarding the process for scheduling an appointment for the vaccination,” Monahan said. “We will continue to keep the House community informed of further supply of COVID-19 vaccine as it becomes available on a wider scale.”

The memo was first noted by Politico on Tuesday.

Members of the House and Senate, including 49-year-old Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and 31-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have already received the first shot in the two-round Covid-19 vaccine. But some members have blasted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its rollout plan, which permits members — even those who are healthy — to receive the vaccine before many people with underlying conditions.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) condemned the CDC this month for prioritizing essential workers over the elderly while distributing the vaccine, pledging not to receive her dose until the vaccine has become available to those over the age of 65.

“For months, the CDC has been telling us the elderly are the most vulnerable,” Gabbard pointed out. “But now they’re recommending that 100 million so-called ‘essential workers’ — which means healthy people working at everything from liquor stores to telephone companies, that they can get the vaccine before our grandparents can, that members of Congress like me — that we can get the vaccine before at-risk seniors can.”

Monahan had previously claimed that only a small number of doses would be made available to staffers on Capitol Hill. His latest announcement qualifies around 1,000 of those staffers to receive the vaccine.