WASHINGTON — Today's Most D.C. Thing comes to us from Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, received the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday in Washington, D.C. This alone is worthy of being a Most D.C. Thing, but what solidifies it is the hospital that she chose to go to for the vaccine.
Harris and Emhoff got their vaccinations at United Medical Center in Southeast D.C. United Medical Center is city’s only public hospital and serves D.C.’s majority Black neighborhoods east of the river.
Vice President-elect Harris attended Howard University and has served as a Senator here in D.C. for years. She chose this hospital and this location for a reason. Harris is not the first lawmaker to publicly get the vaccine to convince Americans that it's safe and effective amid skepticism. Choosing to get it at United Medical Center shines a spotlight on the people who serve a community that it all too often overlooked. Choosing this location could also ease concerns about the vaccine for people who have historically suffered from racial disparities in health care.
Kamala Harris could have gone anywhere to get the vaccine, but she chose to do it here in the heart of D.C. For that reason, this is today's Most D.C. Thing.