Sen. Lindsey Graham urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 while speaking Tuesday on Capitol Hill a little over a week since he tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“I want to reinforce a simple message: If you haven’t been vaccinated regarding the COVID problem, you need to get vaccinated,” Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said on the Senate floor.
Mr. Graham said he contracted the coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Fully vaccinated people can still contract the virus but are less likely to get severely ill or die from it.
Referring to his recent bout with COVID-19 as “couple of really bad days,” Mr. Graham said he is confident “it would have been a lot worse” if he caught the coronavirus before getting fully vaccinated.
Mr. Graham added that only about half of his constituents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and implored the rest to reconsider.
“Just for your own good and the good of our state, I would urge you to consider getting vaccinated. I think the vaccine is safe, it works,” he said. “I’m glad I had it.”
Mr. Graham, 66, announced Aug. 2 that he recently tested positive for COVID-19 and had been experiencing “flu-like symptoms.” He said at the time that he was glad to be fully vaccinated.
Nationwide, 50.3% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tens of millions of eligible Americans remain unvaccinated.
