GOP Rep. Urges Republicans To Get COVID-19 Vaccine After Husband's Death

GOP Rep.-elect Julia Letlow on Sunday urged Republicans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus while citing the death of her husband, Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, from complications caused by COVID-19 in late December.

Letlow of Louisiana appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” when she urged Republicans to get vaccinated. “Look at my family, use my story," she said. "You know, I experienced a tragedy in my immediate family and COVID can touch every family out there. And so, you know, there is a vaccine that has life-saving capabilities. I want to encourage everyone to trust it and get the vaccine."

Luke Letlow, 41, was an incoming GOP congressman when he announced on Dec. 18 that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19. The Louisiana politician was admitted to the St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe before being transferred to the ICU at Ochsner LSU Health on Dec. 23. He died on Dec. 29, as announced by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-La.).

“It is with heavy hearts that @FirstLadyOfLA and I offer our condolences to Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s family on his passing after a battle with COVID-19,” Edwards wrote on Twitter.

“COVID-19 has taken Congressman-elect Letlow from us far too soon. I am heartbroken that he will not be able to serve our people as a U.S. Representative, but I am even more devastated for his loving family,” he added.

Following his death, Julia Letlow ran to fill his seat in a special Louisiana election, in which she won 62% of votes in the 12-way race. She previously worked as an administrator at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

Several polls have found that white Republicans are expressing the most vaccine hesitancy — a key obstacle in the Biden administration’s effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.

A CNN poll conducted from March 3 to 8 found that 46% of Republicans indicated that they won’t get a coronavirus vaccine.

Recent polling by data analytics company Civiqs found that 56% of white Republicans would not get the vaccine or were unsure about getting it. By comparison, only 7% of white Democrats, 31% of Black Americans and 30% of Latinx Americans said they were hesitant about receiving the vaccine.

There is renewed concern that the trajectory of the coronavirus in the United States is moving in the wrong direction as the country’s weekly average of new COVID-19 cases per day has hit 61,821, a 12% increase compared with a week ago.