[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 205 (Monday, November 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8767-S8768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, now, on another subject, Omicron. Over 
the course of 2021, our country has made monumental and hard-fought 
progress in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
  After the passing of the American Rescue Plan, after getting vaccines 
into as many arms as possible, and because of the unceasing work of the 
Biden administration and healthcare workers across the country, we 
begin the winter of 2021 in a much better place than the winter of 
2020.
  But as we learn more about the Omicron variant that is spreading 
abroad, my message to the American people is simple: If you don't want 
to get sick, get vaccinated. If you are eligible, get your booster 
shot.
  While there is so much we have yet to understand about the Omicron 
variant, we do know that you are far less likely to be hospitalized or 
die from the coronavirus if you are fully vaccinated. And for those who 
are already vaccinated, research shows that boosters are likewise 
highly effective. Take the words of Dr. Francis Collins, the head of 
the National Institutes of Health:

       Boosters do, in fact, allow your immune system to have a 
     wide range of capabilities against spike proteins it hasn't 
     seen before.

[[Page S8768]]

     If you needed one more reason, if you're eligible to get that 
     booster right away, this would be it.

  Those are the words of Dr. Collins.
  By now we know, the longer that eligible people resist safe vaccines, 
the greater the risk of new variants like Delta and Omicron arising in 
our midst. These strains--these strains--of variants have largely 
spread among unvaccinated populations, threatening our families, small 
businesses, and prolonging the day we put this wretched disease fully 
in the rearview mirror.
  So if you aren't getting vaccinated for yourself because you don't 
think you need it, then do it for your family, your friends, and your 
neighbors because the unvaccinated population is where the variants 
multiply, spread, and grow, and hurt everybody.
  So as we enter the holiday season, as we begin attending holiday 
gatherings and traveling long distances to see families, I urge New 
Yorkers and Americans everywhere to stay safe, get vaccinated, and get 
boosted. It is the best thing we can do to protect our families, our 
communities, and our country.

                          ____________________