Huckabee Sanders writes op-ed on why she got vaccinated

Former White House press secretary and Republican Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in an op-ed that she has been vaccinated against the coronavirus and urged others to do the same. 

“Like many of you, I have had a lot of misinformation thrown at me by politicians and the media during the pandemic. And, like many of you, I spent a lot of time sorting through it all, trying to make the best decision I could for myself and my family,” Sanders wrote in the entry published over the weekend in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “Based on the advice of my doctor, I determined that the benefits of getting vaccinated outweighed any potential risks.” 

The fact that former President Trump and his family had been vaccinated, Sanders said, helped her make her decision. 

“If getting vaccinated was safe enough for them, I felt it was safe enough for me,” she wrote. 

Sanders has received Trump’s endorsement in the Republican primary in Arkansas and is looking to replace outgoing Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who cannot run again due to term limits. 

Arkansas is one of several states in the Southeast and Midwest with lower-than-average vaccination rates as the delta variant of the coronavirus sweeps through the nation.

“I understand that the decision to be vaccinated is deeply personal and not an easy one to make,” Sanders wrote in her op-ed. “As the number of covid cases and hospitalizations once again rise exponentially in Arkansas, information is emerging that I hope people will consider.” 

She concluded her entry with advice for Arkansans still debating the merits of being vaccinated: “Pray about it, discuss it with your family and your doctor. Filter out the noise and fear-mongering and condescension, and make the best, most informed decision you can that helps your family, community, and our great state be its very best.”