Barrasso talks COVID vaccine during banquet

At the recent Chamber of Commerce banquet, United States Senator John Barrasso gave his thoughts on his vision in helping the economy of Wyoming in regard to business and tourism in recovering from COVID-19. His number one focus was that people need to get the vaccine for COVID-19. 

Barrasso said, “The first thing we need is to get the vaccine so people are willing to get on airplanes and come here. Hot Springs County is part of the path on the way to Yellowstone. You see it on the signs and you want to get more people here. The people want to come but because of the coronavirus we see across the country things have slowed down significantly. So until we get a vaccine and treatment, it’s going to be hard to get fully recovered. Our unemployment rate is improving significantly in Wyoming, but in a lot of places the overall economy, energy is still a big issue. It’s been hit pretty hard.”

Regarding the issue of mandated vaccinations, Barrasso said, “I’m not going to mandate anything. When you look at my record in Wyoming and the Legislature, I think people should get vaccinated. I will when it’s ready. I want to make sure the vulnerable, the people in nursing homes get it first. The people who get the disease. You want front-line workers to have it first.”

Barrasso added that although the existing treatment of the HCQ cocktail works for people who are already sick with COVID, the newly developed vaccines are meant as a preventive to help people avoid getting sick in the first place. “If you have someone in the nursing home, you would rather not have them get sick. And with a vaccine, it’s like getting a shot for polio, mumps, measles, rubella, all of those. That way you don’t get polio.”