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Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie says he won’t get coronavirus vaccine

Kentucky congressman calls American Health Care Act 'a stinking pile of garbage'
Posted at 1:17 PM, Oct 23, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-23 20:55:57-04

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky Congressman says he won’t be taking the coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.

Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie tweeted on Thursday that he hopes a vaccine is developed soon, but he doesn’t plan to use it.

When asked about it by the Courier Journal, Massie said in a statement that he didn’t see the vaccine as necessary for him.

“I’m not in a high-risk category and I trust my natural immune system response over a pharmaceutically stimulated response,” he said.

Massie’s tweet came after President Donald Trump said during a presidential debate with former Vice President Joe Biden that a vaccine could come within weeks.

Nurse practitioner Alexandra Owensby, who is running against Massie in the Nov. 3 election, said in a statement that “the problem is people feel like the vaccine has been rushed.”

Owensby says she hopes at some point most Americans will trust the vaccine enough to get it.