Why I’m glad AOC and Mike Pence skipped ahead in the vaccine line

Of all the strange bedfellows this political season has wrought, there are perhaps none so strange as Representative Ilhan Omar of “The Squad” and Senator Rand Paul, son of libertarian godfather Ron Paul. The two were united for one brief, bizarre moment this week in their criticism of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers for jumping the vaccine line to get the inoculation on camera.

The criticism came directly after a chorus of outcry following Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, Vice President Mike Pence, and other Republican leaders‘ choice to also get vaccinated publicly ahead of the line — a choice that seemed especially galling considering their months of Trumpian Covid denialism. 

The argument that lawmakers should not be able to put themselves ahead of healthcare workers, nursing home residents, the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, and other essential workers is indeed compelling. But I would argue that these politicians using their influence to bolster trust in the vaccine does more to save lives than if they had waited until it was their turn with the rest of their cohort. And this goes for Republicans as well as Democrats.

Even while the pandemic continues to ravage through communities, public trust in the Covid-19 vaccine is low, especially among certain demographics. Overall, only 60 percent of Americans said they would definitely or probably get the vaccine, according to a recent Pew Research study, while the other 40 percent said they would probably or definitely not get the vaccine. But these statistics are not evenly represented among the populace. 

Fewer than half of Black Americans said they would definitely or probably get the vaccine, even though Black people have been hospitalized or died due to the pandemic at greatly disproportionate rates. But Black communities have good reason to distrust the medical establishment, which has a long history of racism and dehumanization which continues to this day. Ocasio-Cortez, who represents a diverse district in New York City and wields tremendous influence with Democrats across the country, has the power to strengthen faith in the vaccine by volunteering to go first. When Ocasio-Cortez livestreamed her vaccination on her Instagram she said, “Just like wearing a mask, I'd never advise you to do something I wasn't willing to do myself.”

On Twitter, Rep. Omar stated, “We are not more important than frontline workers, teachers etc. who are making sacrifices everyday. Which is why I won’t take it. People who need it most should get it.” Senator Paul took a direct shot at Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in his own tweet, in which he stated it would be inappropriate for him to receive the vaccine ahead of frontline healthcare workers or others who needed it, since he had already had the virus. “Same goes for AOC or any young healthy person. They should be among last, not first,” he added.

The Congresswoman replied: “Gee, maybe if the GOP hadn’t spent so much time undermining public faith in science, masks, and COVID itself, I wouldn’t have to weigh the potential misinformation consequences of what would happen if leaders urged people to take a new vaccine that we weren’t taking ourselves!”

Frankly, this is where I am in this debate. 

According to the aforementioned Pew survey, over 60 percent of people who say they are likely to get the vaccine still do not want to get the vaccine first. This sentiment is part of the reason public inoculations are so powerful. For the skeptical, watching their legislator get the shot first may not “I’m more important than you” as much as it says “I volunteer to be the guinea pig”.

It should also not be forgotten that among the vaccine-skeptical are those who should be first in line, including older Americans and even healthcare workers. It’s possible that by putting themselves ahead, Ocasio-Cortez and Ernst will encourage more of these people to get the vaccine than otherwise would be comfortable doing so.  

Another demographic disproportionately likely to mistrust the coronavirus vaccine is conservatives, who have been taught to minimize and dismiss the dangers of the pandemic by a Republican establishment that, yes, includes Ernst herself. Compounding this, an alarming number of conservatives believe at least in part in the many conspiracy theories swirling around the internet, among them a belief that the vaccine will implant a microchip in their bodies masterminded by Bill Gates. These communities are unlikely to be swayed by Ocasio-Cortez, but they could be moved by Ernst and other Republican leaders they respect. 

Ernst got immediate backlash when she tweeted that she received the first dose of the vaccine in Iowa. Considering how much she has done over the past year to undermine faith in science and medicine, such a tweet feels to many like a punch in the jaw. But she also tweeted: “I encourage all Iowans and Americans to do the same when their time comes. Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the tireless work of Americans across the country, we are one step closer to defeating this virus.” 

Including the word “first” in her tweet was certainly not an accident. Ernst was clearly saying what Ocasio-Cortez did, in her own way. At the very least she demonstrated that she would not encourage her constituents to take an action that she was not willing to take herself. The anti-authoritarian, anti-science, anti-medicine sentiment runs deep in today’s GOP, so it is useful for prominent members of the right wing to set an example. Indeed, if it were only lawmakers on the left getting the vaccine and not those on the right, it would only fortify belief in some vast conspiracy on the part of the Democratic establishment. What would it say to the MAGA faithful, who earnestly believes the Democrats are out to control them by nefarious means, if Joe Biden got the vaccine but Mike Pence did not? If AOC, in seeking to reassure her constituents, got the vaccine but Ernst, continuing her dangerously anti-science line, did not? 

We need everyone, on both sides of the aisle, to get vaccinated if it is medically possible for them to do so in order to live in a world safe from Covid. If Ernst is willing to take steps to encourage faith in the vaccine, to undo some of the damage she herself has caused, then I heartily approve. 

Perhaps this is too kind a reading of Ernst’s tweet, and maybe she was acting out of self-interest and self-importance. But her motivations matter less at this point than her influence does. 

Either way, this is a net good.