The wife of a Wisconsin lawmaker who has been an outspoken critic of vaccine and mask mandates is now encouraging others to get their shots after her husband was hospitalized with COVID-19-induced pneumonia and put on a ventilator.
Republican State Senator Andre Jacques, 40, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month and was hospitalized August 16. Just days later he was put on a ventilator.
The senator recently authored legislation that would ban the state from mandating COVID-19 vaccines.
The senator was hospitalized only days after testifying Wisconsin State Capitol without a face mask.
His wife Renee Jacque is now asking others to get the vaccine after her husband and four others in their family contracted the virus.
'While vaccination is a personal choice, I ask that those individuals who are eligible and able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine please consider placing their trust in the medical professionals who recommend it,' she wrote in an email to WBAY-TV.
'These professionals, and their peers, are those whom we have also placed our trust in to care for my husband.'
Renee also reported that five of the eight family members - three of who are fully vaccinated - also tested positive for the virus
Wisconsin State Senator Andre Jacque (pictured) has been hospitalized since August 19 and placed on a ventilator. His wife Renee is now encouraging others to receive a COVID-19 vaccine
She told WBAY-TV that five of the eight family members contracted the virus, but did not say who.
She reported three fully vaccinated family members did contract COVID-19 with mild symptoms. It is not clear if the senator is vaccinated.
Jacque, of De Pere, was first elected to the state Assembly in 2010 and served four terms before being elected to the Senate in 2018.
Jacque sponsored bills that would have prohibited government officials or business owners from requiring vaccinations for COVID-19 or proof of vaccination in order to receive services.
The Republican-controlled Legislature passed both bills, which Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed.
Jacque also opposed a statewide mask mandate that Evers put in effect but that was struck down in March by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Jacque's brother is also encouraging others to get the vaccine. He said he was grateful for the prayers being offered toward his brother, but said getting the vaccine is more effective.
'While I appreciate the prayers for my brother and I understand that that's how they feel they're helping, I would ask them to you know, use some of the help that God has already given them to stay out of that same situation,' he told the Star Tribune.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Senator's office, but did not hear back before publication.
Republican state Rep. Shae Sortwell told his Facebook followers on August 20 that Jacque 'is in serious need of your prayers.'
Jacque's hospitalization comes amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin blamed on the more contagious delta variant.
Wisconsin reported more than 4,000 new COVID-19 cases on August 30, with a seven-day average of almost 2,000.
NBC 15 WMTV reported Wisconsin experienced more than 10,000 new cases in the past week.
In the past few months, the state has recorded more than 50,000 new cases. More than two-thirds of those cases were added in the last month.
The Senator appeared at two public hearings mask-less days for being hospitalized on August 16
His brother Pierre (pictured) encouraged others to get the vaccine instead of sending prayers for his brother
The state has fully vaccinated three million of its citizens. 54 per cent of the state has received their first dose of the vaccine, with just a little over 50 per cent being fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 continues to rise in cases across the US with more than 280,000 new cases reported yesterday.
Fifty-three per cent of US citizens have been fully vaccinated, with 61 per cent receiving at least one dose of the vaccine.
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