Republican lawmakers are refusing to get vaccinated — which is holding up Congress

Republican lawmakers are refusing to get vaccinated — which is holding up Congress

U.S. Congressman-elect Madison Cawthorn speaking with attendees at the 2020 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, photo via Gage Skidmore.
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Many members of the Republican Party are refusing to take the novel coronavirus vaccine -- and it's delaying Congress's return to a full legislative schedule.

Axios reports that 25 percent of lawmakers serving in the House of Representatives still have not been vaccinated, even though Congress has its own supply of the vaccine.

"While it's not certain which party is most to blame for any vaccine hesitancy, the phenomenon is higher among white Republicans than any other demographic group," the publication writes.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) told the publication that he will not be getting the vaccine because he's only 25 years old and "the survival rate is too high for me to want it."

Additionally, GOP lawmakers such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have regularly spread anti-vaccination propaganda, making them likely culprits in thwarting the House's efforts to return back to normal.

"Multiple waves of voting, meant to ensure social distancing inside the House chamber, are slowing a full legislative schedule," notes Axios. "It's also giving power to disrupters like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who's used a procedural move to further drag out the process. Votes can take more than three times longer than pre-pandemic times."

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