Vaccination for Congress staff before going to NASCAR races?

Have NASCAR races become a health risk already?

I wonder what the people in Congress had in mind when they advised congressional staffers to get vaccinations first before attending NASCAR races in Talladega, Alabama and Lowe�s Motor Speedway in Concord.

A number of congressional aides on a fact-finding trip will conduct a research on public health awareness at crowded events, The Charlotte Observer reported October 11. Some aides are assigned to the NASCAR's Bank of America 500 to be held this weekend. The congressional aides were instructed to get vaccinations for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, diphtheria, and tetanus.

What�s interesting in this story is that a member of the Congress stood up and expressed his objection with the immunization directive.

Representative Robin Hayes, a Republican from Concord, North Carolina (the venue for Lowe�s Motor Speedway), questioned the order. He pointed out the bad impression the requirement makes in his letter to House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson.

"I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, N.C., I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," Hayes said in his letter to Thompson.

Hayes further argued that the crowd in NASCAR events should not threaten anyone. "I have been to numerous NASCAR races, and the folks who attend these events certainly do not pose any health hazard to congressional staffers or anyone else," he also said.

However, Thompson replied in a letter to Hayes that the vaccination was just a �recommendation� and not compulsory. Also, there is no reason for the staff designated at NASCAR races to be excluded from immunizations since they are required to visit hospitals and clinics near the NASCAR locations.

So now, that settles it.

Source: The Charlotte Observer