Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that the Republicans’ opposition to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for troops will lead to polio, measles and rubella outbreaks in schools.
Anchor Andrea Mitchell said, “I want to ask you about the final version of the Defense Authorization Bill released by the House because it rescinds the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine for the military, which was opposed by some conservative Republican senators, largely. They say it’s hurting getting the volunteer Army getting geared up and recruitment. But there are so many vaccine requirements. They serve in close quarters. We saw what happened when COVID went through a whole carrier. They had to stop operations in the far east. How do you justify this? Should the president sign it?”
Murphy said, “Well, the first question is going to be whether it has the votes in the House and the Senate. This is an enormous bill. I’m reviewing it as we speak. I’m very disappointed by this provision. We still have 250-plus people dying every day in this country from COVID. As you mentioned, we have always required vaccinations to be part of the U.S. military, going all the way back to George Washington, who was concerned about smallpox breaking out in the military, we have had a vaccination policy. The damage here is not just to the health and safety of the military. It’s to the public writ large. Because as this attack on vaccinations continues to build legitimacy, finds its way into major public policy acts, then it’s going to be harder to hold together all of the other vaccination requirements we have in this country. All of a sudden, we’re going to start moving backward in terms of the number of polio and measles-rubella vaccinations in this country. We will have outbreaks in the schools once again. This is a big bill. We will have to make a tough decision about how we vote. I’m very worried about this broadside attack on vaccines and public policy. It is not just about the military. It is ultimately about our kids. This could get worse for our kids very, very quickly.”
