In shift, GOP ramps up vaccine push as resistance hardens Jill Colvin And Brian Slodysko Associated Press Updated: July 23, 2021 3:32 pm Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., joined by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., left, and members of the GOP Doctors Caucus, speaks during a news conference about the Delta variant of COVID-19 and the origin of the virus, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 22, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON – Republican politicians are under increasing pressure to speak out to persuade COVID-19 vaccine skeptics to roll up their sleeves and take the shots as a new, more contagious variant sends caseloads soaring. But after months of ignoring — and, in some cases, stoking — misinformation about the virus, new polling suggests it may be too late to change the minds of many who are refusing.