Ocasio-Cortez shares experience with COVID vaccine

Moses Kuwema

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday took her COVID-19 vaccine and shared the experience with her Instagram followers saying just like wearing a mask, she would never advise people to do something she was not willing to do herself.

The US representative for New York's 14th congressional district told her followers that she and her fellow congress members were getting the COVID-19 vaccine shot so soon because of national security policies.

"Hey everyone! So we found out last night that the COVID vaccine was available to members of Congress as part of the 'continuity of governance' plan (basically a national security measure)," she wrote, to kick off her story.

"I was actually surprised by this too – we just found out Thursday night. The reason we were given is that this is part of "continuity of governance" planning. Basically, there are national security policies on the books to ensure continuity of governance during national emergencies. The specific statute cited is Presidential Policy Directive 40," she added.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez then posted a questionnaire that needs to be filled out by anyone who receives the vaccine.

"After you get the shot, they seat us in a room…for 15 minutes just to make sure we're good. (Sometimes people get headaches or dizziness in general or seeing blood, etc, so it's just a precaution. No problems today!)" she wrote.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez was handed a photo of the vaccine card after she got her shot and said the card helps people who administer the vaccine to keep track of the date the recipient of the vaccine got their first dose so that they could go back for a second dose later.

When someone asked why the COVID-19 vaccine has two doses, AOC explained that some vaccines require two shots as a way of building up immunity to the virus.

She also shared the side effects of the vaccine for those who were worried.