'This is not complicated!': Mitch McConnell tells people to get vaccinated and warns against listening to 'demonstrably bad advice' from anti-vaxxers
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday while warning of a repeat of last year's rising caseloads and shutdowns if people refuse to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
McConnell also urged Americans to ignore 'demonstrably bad advice' coming from pundits and anti-vaxxers. As cases skyrocket, he noted nearly all new virus hospitalizations nationwide are among people who have not been vaccinated.
'If there is anybody out there willing to listen: Get vaccinated,' McConnell said at his weekly press conference at the Capitol.
'These shots need to get in everybody's arms as rapidly as possible or we´re going to be back in a situation in the fall that we don't yearn for - that we went through last year,' he said. 'This is not complicated.'
McConnell said on Tuesday that 'it never occurred to me' that there would be 'difficulty getting Americans to get the shot' after they were quickly developed for use in the United States.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday
He also warned of a repeat of last year's rising caseloads and shutdowns if people refuse to protect themselves from the coronavirus
McConnell has been one of the most outspoken members of his party in urging vaccinations to stop the virus spread, speaking often in his home state of Kentucky of the need for people to get the shot.
Without criticizing prominent Republicans who refuse the vaccine or mock the severity of the virus, including members of Congress, he has expressed dismay at those who choose to go unvaccinated.
As a survivor of childhood polio, McConnell often draws on his own experience of having endured that disease and he has spoken publicly of the relief that eventually came with the development of vaccines.
Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Steve Scalise announced his got his first vaccine COVID shot on Sunday.
'With the delta variant becoming a lot more aggressive and seeing another spike, it was a good time to do it,' he told his local newspaper, which featured a photo of him getting his shot.
More than a quarter of unvaccinated Americans believe COVID-19 vaccines pose a greater risk to their health than the virus itself, a new poll finds.
In the survey, conducted by Yahoo News/YouGov, more than one-third said the virus that causes COVID-19 is the greatest threat in the U.S.
However, 28 percent of adults who haven't received their shots say the immunizations are riskier.
There are currently no data to suggest that any of the available vaccines in the U.S. are a greater risk to the country than the virus, known as SARS-CoV-2.
OREGON: Anti-vaxxers and conspiracy-theory activists gather near the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on June 9, to listen to speeches attacking vaccines the COVID-19 pandemic
TEXAS: An Anti-vaccine rally protesters hold signs outside of Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston on June 26. A spokesperson for Houston Methodist Hospital said on June 23 that 153 employees either resigned or were fired for refusing to be vaccinated
TEXAS: Anti-vaccine rally protesters hold signs outside of Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston on June 26
NEW YORK: Anti- vaccination activists protest the proof of vaccination requirement to get into the Foo Fighters show as Madison Square Garden reopens with the first full capacity concert since March 2020 on June 20, 2021
INDIANA: Anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers gathered at Indiana University's Sample Gates to protest against mandatory Covid vaccinations IU is requiring for students, staff and faculty during the upcoming fall semester
Heath officials say the COVID-19 outbreak is becoming the 'pandemic of the unvaccinated' and for nearly all cases, hospitalizations and deaths are currently in unvaccinated individuals amid the spread of the 'Delta' variant.
For the poll, 1,715 U.S. adults were surveyed online between July 13 and July 15, with the sample weighted according to sex, age, race and education.
In total, 37 percent of unvaccinated over-18s said that the virus was the greatest threat to the U.S.
However, 28 percent said the vaccines pose a greater risk to their health than the virus while 35 percent said they were unsure.
This was in stark comparison with vaccinated Americans of whom 83 percent said the virus was the great risk to the general public.
If the variant follows the same trajectory as the UK, it is estimated that Delta will account for all new infections by mid-August
Nearly every state - aside from Montana and Iowa - and the District of Columbia have seen infections rise in the last week
Just five percent of fully immunized adults said vaccines were the greater threat and 12 percent said they were unsure.
The survey did not ask why individuals believed vaccines were a greater threat but it could be due to misinformation.
A May poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that two-thirds of unvaccinated adults believe or are unsure about vaccine myths including that the vaccines cause COVID-19, lead to infertility or alter DNA.
None of these theories are true.
Meanwhile, the Delta variant of the coronavirus has been detected in the U.S. Capitol building.
'The Delta variant virus has been detected in Washington, DC and in the Capitol buildings,' Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician of the Capitol wrote in a memo obtained by DailyMail.com.
The Democrats are seen fleeing Austin on a private jet. None are wearing their face masks, and now six of the 55 have tested positive for COVID-19. All are fully vaccinated
He said 'several' aides who have been vaccinated have tested positive for COVID. Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan announced on Monday he had tested positive for COVID despite being vaccinated.
'Several vaccinated Congressional staff members and 1 Member of Congress have acquired infection,' Monahan wrote.
He advised staff to consider wearing face masks as an additional source of protection but noted it is not required by the CDC.
'Vaccinated individuals seeking to further reduce their risk of disease, or further reduce potential risk of transmitting disease to vulnerable household members, may consider additional protective actions such as wearing a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask when they are in a crowded or interior location,' he said.
Several lawmakers, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, staff members and members of the media were seen wearing face masks in the Capitol on Tuesday.
The developments comes after it was revealed a White House staffer and one in Speaker Pelosi's office tested positive for COVID after attending an event with Texas Democrats last week.
Additionally on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed there have been other breakthrough cases in the administration but declined to offer details or numbers, saying they had only committed to revealing cases among high-level White House staff.
'We had also committed during the transition that - I think there's hundreds of thousands of people who work on the federal government as you all know - and we committed during the transition, that if it was a commissioned officer, which who are the highest level ranking people in the White House and in the administration, in this building here, that we would make that information publicly available,' she said.
WASHINGTON D.C.: People hold a prayer vigil for the more than 4 million lives lost to COVID-19 on the National Mall on Tuesday
WASHINGTON D.C.: Attendees seek shelter from the sun beneath an umbrella during a COVID-19 prayer vigil on the National Mall honoring and mourning those who have died due to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. During the event, faith leaders urged wealthy nations to increase vaccine production and global distribution systems
The Delta variant is widely contagious and is causing a 224% spike in cases in the United States. The current vaccines are effective against it. Health officials note that breakthrough COVID cases for vaccinated individuals result in much milder symptoms than for the unvaccinated.
Both the Pelosi staffer and the White House aide were fully vaccinated. The speaker's office and the White House are taking precautions in the aftermath. Some Pelosi staff are working from home and the White House is conducting contact tracing.
'Yesterday, a fully-vaccinated senior spokesperson in the Speaker's Press Office tested positive for COVID after contact with members of the Texas state legislature last week. This individual has had no contact with the Speaker since exposure,' said Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill in a statement to DailyMail.com.
'The entire Press Office is working remotely today with the exception of individuals who have had no exposure to the individual or have had a recent negative test. Our office will continue to follow the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician closely,' he added.
Axios first reported the news of the positive tests, reporting it happened after the staffers attended the same rooftop reception with members of the Texas Democratic delegation at the Hotel Eaton last Wednesday night. The downtown DC hotel has a popular rooftop bar.
Six members of the Texas Democratic delegation, who have fled their state to hold up a vote on voting rights legislation, have tested positive for COVID since arriving in Washington D.C.
COVID cases are on the rise across the United States. The U.S. recorded 52,111 new cases on Monday with a seven-day rolling average of 34,682, which is a 224 percent increase from the 10,678 average recorded three weeks ago.
Nearly every state - aside from Montana and Iowa - and the District of Columbia have seen infections rise in the last week, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
'Yesterday, a fully vaccinated White House official tested positive for COVID-19 off campus,' a White House official told DailyMail.com in a statement.
'In accordance with our rigorous COVID-19 protocols, the official remains off campus as they wait for a confirmatory PCR test. The White House Medical Unit has conducted contact tracing interviews and determined no close contacts among White House principals and staff. The individual has mild symptoms.'
The official added: 'The White House is prepared for breakthrough cases with regular testing. This is another reminder of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness or hospitalization. We wish our colleague a speedy recovery.'
White House staffers have been vaccinated for COVID but are also regularly tested.
Psaki noted there precautions in place on the White House campus, which makes up the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. She said she is tested twice a week.
'Regular testing of those surrounding and meeting with the president,' she pointed out. 'For those who have closer proximity, they are tested more regularly than those who have less proximity, ensuring those interact with the president are following the CDC guidance regarding mask wearing and distancing actively.'
She added the administration is 'monitoring the health of our campus in the larger community in collaboration with public health and medical experts.'
'We have a robust infrastructure to ensure compliance with these protocols, and we're asking staff to also monitor themselves for symptoms and stay off campus if they develop symptoms.'