Taking Shots
The first COVID-19 vaccines were administered this month, coming in record time. Hard not to point out that the president said in the summer that the first vaccines would come by the end of the year, but he was ridiculed for making such an obviously false suggestion in a desperate campaign ploy. Except that it happened, of course.
There’s a limited amount of these to go around, so it’s been generally agreed that front-line health care folks should be first in line, followed by those at greatest risk…namely, those above a certain age, and residing at a long-term care facility.
All good…except that to no one’s surprise, Members of Congress were also included in those to get the first shots, because of continuity of government. Some refused, like Sen. Charles Grassley who noted he already tested positive and thought the vaccine should go to someone else.
It’s led to quite a dust up on the left in the U.S. House, a division among members of the so-called Squad. Congresswoman AOC apparently doesn’t want us to call her that because it’s disrespectful. However, that’s her Twitter handle, so I guess I’ll refer to her as @AOC. She got the shot despite barely being 31 years of age, claiming it was to set a positive example. That’s not how others in the Squad saw it, and called her out publicly for taking a vaccine that should have gone to someone who was more at risk.
This came, of course, after @AOC said in an interview that Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer should stand aside for younger leadership…and after she was rebuffed in an attempt to secure a committee leadership position. Oh, and after she said in a post-election interview that it was depressing that her party lost the House…maybe she’s looking ahead to 2022.
We’ll talk about this more next week, but this is yet another example of how fragmented the two major parties are…and how that will hurt actual governing going forward.
While @AOC’s intent may have been to set a good example for others…it smacked of entitlement…the very thing I thought she and the others are against.
