Gov. Greg Abbott receives COVID-19 vaccine in Austin

In what amounted to a public service announcement, Gov. Greg Abbott received the coronavirus vaccine before cameras in Austin on Tuesday.

After receiving the vaccine, the governor tossed his hands up and said, “it’s that easy,” before a round of applause from members of his staff and medical professionals on hand at Ascension Seton Medical Center.

“I will never ask Texans to do something I wouldn’t do,” Abbott said.

The public vaccination — journalists and news cameras were on hand — echoed an event on Friday in which Vice President Mike Pence received a vaccine shot.

“We want to make sure people in state of Texas can have trust and confidence in this vaccine,” Abbott explained.

He cited a poll that suggested more than half of Texans are unwilling or unsure to take this vaccine.

“That’s exactly why we’re here today,” he said, adding that federal health officials have said “it’s very important for leaders like governors to step up and make sure they show the public, by getting the vaccine in front of a TV camera, that this is a very safe and very easy process.”

State officials said this week people who are older than 65 will be prioritized in the next phase of vaccine distribution. Also next in line: those who are older than 16 and have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to symptoms related to the coronavirus. 

The conditions included, but are not limited to; cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type-2 diabetes, heart conditions and obesity, according to state health officials. 

State health authorities said people who are pregnant or have had a organ transplant will also be included in the list of priority populations in the next phase of vaccine distribution. 

Officials on Monday also said the transition into the next phase of vaccine distribution is not expected to start for “at least a few weeks.”

That next phase differs with expert panel recommendations made to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made over the weekend.

The panel recommended that people 75 and older be next in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine, along with about 30 million “frontline essential workers,” such as emergency responders, teachers and grocery store employees.

Abbott’s vaccination comes as lawmakers across the country have begun getting the vaccine — and in some quarters have been criticized for getting it before health care or frontline workers. 

After U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, tweeted a picture of herself receiving the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Sunday — at the recommendation of a congressional attending physician — critics were quick to point out that as recently as September she had peddled a conspiracy theory that doctors were inflating Covid deaths for money, saying she was “so sceptical” of official figures.

And this weekend, 74 year-old Texas Senator Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, was spotted by a Texas Tribune news photographer getting the vaccine — even though state health officials said the vaccine was restricted to health care workers.

Lucio serves on a state vaccine allocation panel that offers recommendations about who should get the vaccine and in which order.  

Lucio told the Tribune he was trying to “set the tone for getting vaccinated so that more Texans will accept the vaccine as it becomes available,” Lucio said, and that officials at Doctors Hospital Renaissance had invited him to take the vaccine after they explained to him that all eligible workers who wanted the vaccine had received it — and the surplus would have to be administered or destroyed.

Abbott’s event on Tuesday was meant especially to persuade fellow Republicans to take the vaccine — a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll in October showed that Texans most likely to reject or resist vaccinations include ones who are rural, Black, politically independent, Republican, female, middle aged and older. 

“I want to show my fellow Texans that it’s safe and easy to get the vaccine, and remember I’ll never ask fellow Texans to do something I’m not willing to do myself,” Abbott said.

The governor’s announcement comes as the number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals continues to rise, surpassing 10,000 on Monday for the first time since July 24. The pandemic high was 10,893 hospitalizations on July 22.

Also taking the vaccine in front of news cameras Tuesday was the state’s chief medical officer, Dr. John Hellerstedt.

“The purpose is to show you that we truly trust that this is a safe and effective vaccine,” Hellerstedt said. “There is a lot of vaccine enthusiasm and vaccine eagerness in the state of Texas. That couldn’t be better. We really want to sustain that, and as we get more and more vaccine, this will eventually be what puts the pandemic behind us and makes the pandemic a part of history.”

By the end of this week of vaccine distribution — the second week of distribution — the state will have received more than 800,000 doses, the governor said. By the end of the month, more than 1 million doses will be distributed throughout Texas. 

Texas Medical Association President Dr. Diana Fite said the association “thanks Governor Abbott for rolling up his sleeve to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. People need to see we can make Texas strong against the coronavirus if we all take these preventive measures to protect ourselves and others. The governor is leading by example by getting the shot.”

Her statement continued: “This safe and effective vaccine represents the early light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. If enough people get the shot when they are eligible to do so, we can win this battle. That is why I got vaccinated last week, as did many of my frontline physician colleagues and health care workers.”

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Austin American-Statesman can be found here ***