Republican doctors serving in Congress have joined forces to create a video ad encouraging people to get their COVID-19 vaccine. According to The Week, Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., John Barrasso, R. Wyo., and John Boozman, R-Ark., along with several House Republicans, created the creative and informative new video advertisement .
Surveys have suggested that GOP voters are more reluctant to get vaccinated, so the lawmakers decided to be more proactive to allay fears about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. Marshall also encourages people to get their shots so “we can throw away our masks and live life as free as we did before.”
The video praises Operation Warp Speed, the program launched under former President Donald Trump that fast-tracked the vaccines for authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, per The Week, without cutting corners.
The innovative ad by Republican lawmakers was warmly embraced on Twitter.
“This is an unequivocally good video of Republican members of Congress telling people to get vaccinated,” tweeted Eric Michael Garcia. “It also frames getting vaccinated as means to regaining “freedom” and ending “lockdowns.” It talks about returning to church and assuaging fears of cutting corners.”
Public polls have shown a wide gap between political parties on their willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Experts say this hesitancy needs to be addressed to ensure at least 70% of the population is vaccinated to get the virus under control.
According to CNN, a recent Axios/Ipsos and Gallup polls found a deep partisan split in response to vaccination queries. The Axios/Ipsos poll taken in January and February of this year found that 74% of Democrats were in favor of vaccination while only 51% or Republicans and 61% of Independents said they were likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Gallup poll found a 40% partisan gap with 91% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans responding affirmatively to getting the vaccine.
Some Twitters viewers joked that the Republican physician/lawmaker’s video promoting vaccines would have been even more effective if it featured Democrats urging the public NOT to get vaccinated “knowing they’d rush out to get it in spite,” tweeted Kevin M. Kruse.
Source: Newmax
