Pence urges young conservatives 'to go get' COVID vaccine shot

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Former Vice President Mike Pence, who was very much the public face of the Trump administration's efforts to help drug makers quickly produce an effective coronavirus vaccine through Operation Warp Speed, is urging young conservatives to get vaccinated.

"Now let me say this about the vaccine: I got the shot. My family got the shot. And I want to encourage anyone here who hasn’t gotten the shot who’s eligible to go get it. And if you’re not sure about it, go ask your doctor and get the very best advice you can," Pence said Wednesday as he spoke at Young America Foundation's National Conservative Student Conference in Houston.

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Pence made his comments amid a new surge in COVID-19 cases in many parts of the country due to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, a year and a half after the worldwide pandemic first swept across the country. Studies indicate that the delta variant’s infection rate among those who are vaccinated is significantly lower than in people who have resisted taking the vaccine.

"As we do our part, each and every one of us, to put this pandemic in the past, we need to also stand firm on the principle that we can defeat this virus without lockdowns and mandates," Pence emphasized in his speech. 

"We can protect the vulnerable and get our kids back to school. And we can keep America open without forfeiting our freedoms," he said to applause.

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And Pence, a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender, highlighted that "Operation Warp Speed was an American medical miracle."

The then-vice president was one of the first leading administration officials to publicly get vaccinated in December 2020. Pence was joined by his wife and then-Surgeon General Jerome Adams in taking their shots in an event that was seen live on national television. They were joined in the ensuing weeks by then-President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who also received their shots in front of live television cameras. 

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While then-President Trump endorsed the vaccine and repeatedly touted his administration’s efforts to quickly produce them, he received his COVID shots privately in January, and his aides didn’t confirm that Trump got vaccinated until March.

Some top Republicans – such as Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell – have joined Pence in strongly urging Americans to take the shots, but others in the Republican Party remain skeptics of the vaccine and have been highly critical of the Biden administration’s efforts to persuade those opposed to getting vaccinated to take the shots. 

The president and his administration have repeatedly emphasized in recent months that getting the vaccine is the quickest and most effective way of stemming the pandemic.