Congress Divided Over Whether They Will Be Receiving the Swine Flu Vaccine

by Stephen Leeb

Democratic and Republican lawmakers cannot agree on whether to get the swine flu vaccine even after this week’s first reported case of a member of Congress catching the illness.

Some, like Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), are choosing not to get vaccinated, at least not immediately. Others, like Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), want it but can’t get it. She tried, but is not among the vulnerable categories that have first call on limited supplies.

The debate on Capitol Hill mirrors one taking place all across the country, as a new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows a majority of Americans increasingly worried that they or a member of their family will contract the H1N1 virus but also that six in 10 are not planning to get the vaccine.

The Office of the Attending Physician (OAP) began vaccinating the most vulnerable members and staffers this week as instances of swine flu spread throughout the campus from House pages to lawmakers. Members are not given preferential treatment.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) this week was the first lawmaker to admit to having swine flu. His announcement came as 10 House pages, who have daily interaction with members, also reported having flu-like symptoms.

That hasn’t rattled Boehner, who said he wasn’t too concerned about getting vaccinated and that neither he nor his family had shown any symptoms.

“I hadn’t thought about it,” he said in an interview.

But Velazquez paid a visit to the OAP on Wednesday to see when she would be eligible to receive the vaccination. The OAP told her that hers was not “a target group yet,” she said. The OAP did not give her a firm timeline for when she could get vaccinated but said that it would let her know.

Production of the vaccine has lagged behind goals laid out earlier in the year by federal officials, with only 15 million doses available to date. Health officials hope to have 50 million by the middle of November and 150 million by December.

In the meantime, Capitol Hill doctors are following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines by limiting their doses to pregnant women, children under 5, health professionals and people with pre-existing medical conditions.

While Walden is officially the first member to contract the virus, Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) suspects he may have already had the swine flu.

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November 2, 2009

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