Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nancy Pelosi Receive COVID-19 Vaccine: We Must 'Crush the Virus'

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Instagram; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Instagram;

U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nancy Pelosi received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine on Friday, publicly documenting the process for their constituents.

Ocasio-Cortez, a representative for a district in the Bronx, shared on her Instagram Stories that she had recently learned the vaccine was available to members of Congress.

"The COVID vaccine became available to members of Congress last night and we are urged to take it as part of a continuity of governance plan so I'm heading on my way there," Ocasio-Cortez, 31, said, opening up the conversation to allow followers to send in their questions.

"Just like wearing a mask, I'd never advise you to do something I wasn't willing to do myself," AOC wrote atop the clip.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Instagram

Speaker of the House Pelosi, 80, shared several photos of herself getting the vaccine on Twitter.

"Today, with confidence in science & at the direction of the Office of the Attending Physician, I received the COVID-19 vaccine," she wrote. "As the vaccine is being distributed, we must all continue mask wearing, social distancing & other science-based steps to save lives & crush the virus."

After showing a video of her receiving the vaccine and sharing information on potential side effects, safety and the efficacy of the vaccine, Ocasio-Cortez answered a question about why politicians were getting it before some healthcare workers.

"I was actually surprised by this too — I was expecting that we were going to get it a lot later," she said, adding that healthcare workers have begun receiving it, though "not everybody yet obviously has been vaccinated."

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"But when it comes to Congress's access, it's due to something known as 'continuity of governance' planning," AOC explained. "Basically, there are national security politics on the books to ensure continuity of governance during national emergencies."

The FDA issued an emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine last week, and its distribution across the country began over the weekend. Another vaccine protecting against the coronavirus, from Moderna, was approved on Friday.

Ocasio-Cortez and Pelosi are among the many celebrities and politicians who have gotten the Pfizer vaccine, including Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, who were also both vaccinated on Friday.

RELATED VIDEO: Vice President Mike Pence and Wife Karen Publicly Receive COVID Vaccine Alongside Surgeon General

Vice President Mike Pence and Wife Karen Publicly Receive COVID Vaccine Alongside Surgeon General

The White House said Wednesday that the vice president and second lady would receive the vaccine to "build confidence among the American people"

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has said President Donald Trump "is absolutely open to taking the vaccine." But she noted, as White House officials have, that Trump, 74, previously contracted and recovered from the virus, which lessened the urgency.

"He will receive the vaccine as soon as his medical team determines it's best," McEnany, 32, said on Friday. "His priority is frontline workers [and] those in long-term-care facilities, and he wants to make sure that the vulnerable get access first."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading expert on infectious disease, said this week that he recommended Pence, Trump, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to all receive the vaccine.

"You still want to protect people who are very important to our country right now," Fauci said last Tuesday. "For security reasons, I really feel strongly that we should get them vaccinated as soon as we possibly can."