Rep. Ilhan Omar Won’t Get COVID-19 Vaccine Immediately

Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District Representative Ilhan Omar, has shared that she will not rush to get the COVID-19 vaccine, unlike other members of congress. 

Omar headed to Twitter on Sunday (Dec. 20) to argue that lawmakers should defer to frontline workers and teachers “who are making sacrifices everyday” to be receiving the vaccination first. 

“It would make sense if it was age, but unfortunately it’s of importance and its shameful.

We are not more important than frontline workers, teachers etc. who are making sacrifices everyday,” she wrote. “Which is why I won’t take it. People who need it most, should get it. Full stop.” 

RELATED: Black NYC Nurse Among First To Receive Coronavirus Vaccine As Distribution Begins

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Despite Omar’s criticism, Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, encouraged lawmakers to get the vaccine. He has also administered it to several members, according to an official press release published by Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi, on Thursday (Dec. 17).

“My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: there is no reason why you should defer receiving this vaccine,” Monahan wrote in a letter to Congress.

High-profile members of Congress that have received the vaccine include Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Sen. Mitt Romney, as well as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

The U.S. The Department of Defense announced on Monday (Dec. 21) that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized two vaccines for emergency use by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna. The COVID-19 vaccines will be given in two separate doses in order for it to be effective.

Operation Warp Speed officials confirm that 20-million doses of vaccine will be available by the end of the year, the U.S. Department of Defense reports. 

For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.