Growing number of US Republicans rejecting COVID-19 vaccines: Report

A growing number of Republicans are having second thoughts about the efficacy of taking the COVID-19 vaccine over concerns that the vaccine poses a greater health threat than COVID-19 itself.

Although top GOP leaders, including Senator Mitch McConnell and Representative Kevin McCarthy were vaccinated in December 2020 and have encouraged the public to do the same, a number of high-profile rank-and-file members say they intend to ignore the advice, reported The Hill.

Some members have indicated that they don't want to jump ahead of constituents in line for vaccines of their own.

"I have not chosen to be vaccinated because I got it naturally and the science of 30 million people -- and the statistical validity of a 30 million sample -- is pretty overwhelming that naturally immunity exists and works," said Senator Rand Paul.

"I had COVID," remarked Senator Ron Johnson, who tested positive for it in October.

Several other Republicans said that they're still consulting with their doctors about whether they'll take it, three months after the vaccine became available to members of Congress, The Hill reported.

"I'm still looking at it, I'm listening to my doctor," said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), another COVID-19 survivor.

"I'm very glad we have a vaccine. ... I'm certainly encouraging people to get vaccinated, but I also think it's a choice for individual Americans to make," Senator Ted Cruz said on Tuesday.

A recent poll showed that 47 per cent of the people who voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential elections have no plan to get vaccinated.

The hesitancy and muddled messaging arrive as the Biden administration, backed by public health experts, is urging Americans to get a vaccine as soon as they become eligible to do so. The issue, however, has become highly partisan, as a huge swath of Republican voters say they'll refuse to do so, according to The Hill.

This also comes as the US House of Representatives last week approved the Senate-passed version of President Joe Biden's USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, called by him as the 'American Rescue Plan'.

The discrepancy is reportedly frustrating Democratic leaders, who are urging Republicans to be more vocal in promoting vaccines.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said last week that the chamber could return to normal business more quickly "if every member had been vaccinated."

The US remains the worst-affected country by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 29,545,555 total infections and 536,826 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

( With inputs from ANI )