GOP congressman vows he won’t take coronavirus vaccine: ‘I’m an American’

The politicization of the COVID-19 vaccine escalated on Friday when a Republican congressman went on national TV to say he would not get vaccinated.

The same day he stepped down as chairman of the Colorado Republican Committee, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) announced his vaccination decision on Fox Business.

“I’m an American and I have the freedom to decide if I’m going to take a vaccine or not, and in this case I am not going to take the vaccine,” Buck told Neil Cavuto, The Washington Postreported.

When pressed, Buck pushed a conspiracy theory that the vaccine might be more dangerous than coronavirus.

“I’m more concerned about the safety of the vaccine than I am the side effects of the disease,” Buck said. “I’m a healthy person. I think most Americans are healthy. I think what we should do is focus on the at-risk populations … but I am not going to take a vaccine.”

The state of Colorado has attributed 3,427 deaths to COVID-19.