House GOP leaders say vaccine works but shouldn’t be mandated

House GOP leaders on Thursday expressed confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness against the virus but said it shouldn’t be mandated for Americans as cases surge in pockets of the U.S.

The GOP Doctors Caucus, along with the conference leaders, avoided directly instructing Americans to get their COVID-19 shots at the press conference but did encourage hesitant Americans to discuss vaccines with their doctors and then come to a “personal decision.”

“We urge all Americans to talk to their doctors about the risks of COVID, talk to their doctors about the benefits of getting vaccinated and then come to a decision that’s right for them about the vaccine,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said.

Another member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), said all of the physicians present “want people vaccinated,” but as a medicine with potential side effects, the vaccine should not be mandated.

Background: The press conference comes as the delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated communities, filling hospitals in some places. States across the country have seen a rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, but those suffering are almost all people who have not been vaccinated.

Those people also tend to be conservative and vote Republican, according to numerous polls. The states with the highest jumps in cases are largely states where majorities backed former President Trump in the last election.

As those statistics have risen, Republican office holders increasingly have been talking publicly about vaccines this week.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who got his first shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine days ago amid concerns about the delta strain, said he “would encourage people to get the vaccine,” saying the caucus has “expressed confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.”