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24 governors have not yet been vaccinated

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Illinois

* Our dear friend Tina Sfondeles at Business Insider…

The Republican governors of Texas, Wyoming, and Maryland are lifting pandemic restrictions throughout their states. These governors have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, but the vast majority of their residents still await a potentially life-saving shot.

And at least 26 other American governors have received a COVID-19 vaccination, too — 13 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

But 24 other governors — 14 Republicans and 10 Democrats — tell Insider they’re waiting their turn, abiding by the vaccination distribution guidelines they’ve helped set or waiting for the vaccine supplies in their state to increase.

As Americans scramble to find vaccines, the state leaders are taking wildly different approaches in how they protect themselves — creating tension between getting a shot early to show skeptics it’s safe, and appearing like they’re jumping the line ahead of their constituents.

Insider contacted the offices of all 50 governors to inquire whether they had received the vaccine. They offered a multitude of reasons why they received it: age, continuity of government, and their own personal health histories, among others.

Gov. Pritzker has not yet been vaxed.

Frankly, as someone who is about to head over to the Senate to cover session, I’d like to know how many Illinois legislators have been vaccinated. I’d also like to know how many results came back positive yesterday when everyone planning to attend session this week had to be tested. But, you know, if wishes were fishes…

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 11:53 am

Comments

Pay for Tina’s content everybody.

Comment by Ok Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 11:55 am
If wishes were fishes we could feed a horse for a day, as the saying goes

Comment by Commisar Gritty Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 11:57 am
If wishes were fishes… the State Capitol would be the State’s largest Red Lobster?

Comment by ChicagoBars Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 11:58 am
I get what JB said about line-jumping, and “Leaders eat last.” But he should just do it. Set an example, and make the executive branch of the state that much more stable.

Comment by Arsenal Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 12:00 pm
I’m going to try and be delicate here. We all know why he qualifies in Phase 1B+. And I totally understand why he’s waiting.

Its a perfect trap for the trolls to troll even more.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 12:02 pm
Ugh (banned punctuation) Anyone in a position of influence should not only been seen getting the shot, but should remind constituents that ALL living presidents and their spouses (Trump included) got theirs.

Comment by Jocko Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 12:02 pm
“If wishes were fishes we’d all eat caviar.” I’m half convinced my grandmother made that ending up, I’ve never heard it from anyone else.

More on point, I agree Rich, it’d be nice to know who of our leaders has got the shot

Comment by Perrid Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 12:04 pm
JB needs to be vaccinated sooner than later. He should qualify now so it is not jumping the line. If he became seriously ill, it would harm the implementation of Vaccines and the new Recovery funding.

Comment by City Guy Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 12:07 pm
It’s time Governor.

Comment by Excitable Boy Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 12:29 pm
I am a fervent believer in HIPPA laws. Whether one is vaccinated or not falls under that.

Comment by Blue Dog Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 12:58 pm
=It’s time Governor=

JB getting a shot will not move the needle (sorry) for anyone to get one or not.

I want to know if Jesse White has had one. His public support of the vaccine would go a long way in getting higher uptake in areas where legitimate vaccine hesitancy exists

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:00 pm
Being a ‘big guy’ like the governor, he should be aware of the risks larger people have with this disease and get vaccinated.

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:13 pm
If the tests were paid for with taxpayer money, I wonder if the meta data from those tests should be reported and/or FOIAable.

Comment by Just Me 2 Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:30 pm
Governors should be right behind the President in getting vaccinated. They are the civilian authority needed for continuity of government in s given state. He also qualifies as a big guy now, but we have treated this pandemic as some weird theoretical issue when there are serious issues of stability and continuity of government that have been put aside in favor or perceived equity. The thing is 50 or even several thousand doses for state lege members is not a significant number of doses at the national population scale.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:35 pm
Oh, and got my first shot today!

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:35 pm
The governor needs to get vaccinated now. He qualifies both because of health and the essential nature of his position.
I also agree with Cool Papa that Jesse White getting vaccinated would help with vaccine reluctance.

Comment by Rachel Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:40 pm
Now would be a good time for the governor to call more attention to the 1b+ expansion and get vaccinated in front of the press. I really think it could be helpful before there are further expansions in the vaccine distribution just to get remaining people who qualify vaccinated while there are appointment readily available. I’ve talked to a few people who obviously qualify but are still under the misconception that, no matter what the state guidelines say, only those with the worst of the worst medical conditions should get an appointment. The number of Prizker Sucks signs isn’t going to be impacted one way or another, and trolls are going to troll no matter what.

Comment by AC Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:43 pm
—I am a fervent believer in HIPPA laws. Whether one is vaccinated or not falls under that.

It’s HIPAA and besides the point. No one is forcing anyone to reveal private medical information. It’s a choice for Governor’s but also of public interest so they can choose to disclose on their own or let constituents consider what non-disclosure means. When it comes to the health of a President or Governor, the public should expect voluntary disclosure.

HIPAA gives you control over your health information collected by medical providers and their contractors. It does not mean that you never have to provide information–it means it is your choice. However, there are consequences to that choice whether it be voter evaluation or not being allowed in a school or college for not having up to date vaccines.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:44 pm
Not a big fan of the Governor, but he qualifies now to get a vaccine and he should take it without delay. His office is too important to take any chances.

Comment by phocion Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 1:55 pm
I understand why the Governor doesn’t want to look like he is jumping the line. But, he clearly qualifies under 1B+ No matter what he does, the twitterverse and Facebook will drag him for it. So, just take the shot and be safe.

Comment by Bruce( no not him) Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 3:40 pm
Gov. Pritzker qualifies for a vaccine and as long as he got an appointment just like any other citizen I don’t know how that would be qualified as “jumping the line.”

Cool Papa Bell has a good idea. People who carry a lot of weight in targeted communities (i.e. Jesse White) should be front and center promoting being vaccinated themselves and getting vaccinated. That would also be an area for Republicans to step up and lead, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Comment by MyTwoCents Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 4:42 pm
- JB getting a shot will not move the needle (sorry) for anyone to get one or not. -

That wasn’t my point. He’s waited long enough, he qualifies, and I would hate to see him get sick. I think he’s done as good a job as anyone could and I’d like him to stick around for a while.

Comment by Excitable Boy Tuesday, Mar 16, 21 @ 5:08 pm