Polio-Surviving McConnell Calls for Members of Congress to Take Covid Vaccine: ‘Important’ for Leaders ‘to Step Up’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urged fellow members of Congress to set an example for the country by taking the coronavirus vaccine.

McConnell spoke to Fox News’ Dana Perino on Monday to discuss the struggles of Congress before a deal was finally reached for a $900 billion economic stimulus package. After McConnell bashed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for their conduct throughout the deadlock, Perino noted that the senator is a polio survivor, asking, “What do you want people to know about the vaccine and why should they take it?”

McConnell began by defending Congress’ early access to the Covid vaccine for the sake of maintaining government continuity. He returned to Perino’s core question afterward, saying “I think it’s important for the leaders in the country to step up, take the vaccine, and help reassure the American public, because polls indicate about half the public is either skeptical about taking the vaccine or does not want to take it at all.”

“That has to change,” McConnell continued, “because we can’t solve this problem until large numbers of Americans are vaccinated. As a polio victim myself, I fully understand the significance of vaccines. It took decades to develop the polio vaccine. This vaccine was developed in under a year. A modern medical miracle. And we need to take the vaccine.”

Watch above, via Fox News.